Food and clothing drives have been added to weekly pro-democracy protests in Beverly, Salem and Marblehead, thanks to two new mutual aid initiatives. Both of these initiatives are currently slated to run only through the end of November, but we hope that they will continue beyond that and expand to other local protest sites.
North Shore Mutual Aid
Inspired by the food drives at the Bearing Witness ICE protests in Burlington, Barbara Roy launched a new group, North Shore Mutual Aid. For the past three weeks, NSMA has been collecting coats, winter accessories (e.g., hats, gloves, scarves), diapers and laundry sheets at the Saturday Hands Off! Beverly protests held at Odell Veterans Memorial Park. This weekend, Marblehead's weekly Saturday afternoon protest was added as a NSMA collection site.
Items collected by NSMA are delivered to St. Peter's-San Pedro Episcopal Church in Salem, where they are distributed to local immigrant families.
Local protest organizers can contact NSMA to be added as a collection site by emailing northshoremutualaid@proton.me. This email address can also be used to request pickups of donated items at locations in Salem, Beverly, Marblehead and surrounding towns.
Salem's Call Food Drive
Through the month of November, Salem's Call is collecting food and pre-loved clothing during their Saturday protests at Riley Plaza in Salem. Here is a list of suggested items to donate. Proceeds benefit the Salem Pantry and the Salem Survival Program, a mutual aid initiative that distributes food, clothes, and sundries to unhoused and low-income individuals in Salem.
Salem's Call will dedicate next Saturday's protest in Riley Plaza to raising awareness of food insecurity within our community. For additional details, see Mobilize. Salem's Call can be contacted by emailing salemscall@yahoo.com.
