Community steps up after Gather loses truck in accident
Gather, a nonprofit that’s been fighting food insecurity in the region for more than 200 years, has received some major love back from the community after an accident totaled one of the nonprofit’s two trucks.
PORTSMOUTH, NH – Gather, a nonprofit that’s been fighting food insecurity in the region for more than 200 years, has received some major love back from the community after an accident totaled one of the nonprofit’s two trucks.
“The truck is absolutely essential to our operations,” said Kate Constantine, Gather’s community engagement manager. It made daily trips to the nonprofit’s mobile markets along the Seacoast, including in Rochester, Somersworth, Portsmouth and Seabrook. It was also used to pick up food from the New Hampshire Food Bank and other partners, Constantine said.
While insurance covered a portion of the loss, Gather faced steep weekly rental bills until it could get a new truck, as well as replacement costs.
To make matters worse, the accident came at a time of critical need – Gather supports thousands of area residents a month, and this summer those numbers reached a record high.
“We are a boots-on-the-ground organization. Without a truck, we cannot physically get food to people in need,” the organization said after the accident. “With the rising rate of food insecurity, Gather’s services have never been more critical, and we cannot serve our community with only one truck.”
Three months later, with support from the community, a new truck is on the road.
No one was injured in the one-vehicle rollover accident on the Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester on May 10. Driver James Desrosiers, 29, of Concord, who is also Gather’s logistics manager, suffered a severe sneezing fit, causing him to lose control of the 2023 International refrigerated box truck, New Hampshire State police said.
The truck collided with the guardrail along the shoulder, then swerved back toward the middle of the road and rolled over before landing on its wheels, according to state police.
The truck was totaled, and the nonprofit had to rent one for $1,100 a week, with insurance covering only $1,500 in total (not a week) for a rental. Insurance also paid only the current cash value for the truck, which meant they had to make up the difference between the insurance compensation and the cost of a new truck, about $52,000.
When the accident story hit the news, including the impact the loss of the truck would have on Gather’s efforts, people began asking on social media what they could do to help, Constantine said.
A major boost came shortly after the accident, when Andre Carrier, CEO of The Brook, in Seabrook, said he’d match donations up to $25,000, launching the fundraiser.
The community responded. Earlier this month, ATA Outdoor Media, of Greenland, affixed the Gather logo to a brand-new truck. It’s now on the road, distributing food up and down the Seacoast and into southern Maine.
Gather was founded in 1816 by a group of Seacoast women to help feed the hungry families of local fishermen. Over the last decade, it’s expanded from a traditional food pantry “to incorporate cutting-edge mobile programs that distribute fresh food” along the Seacoast, according to a Gather news release.
Individuals and families from more than 65 New Hampshire and York County, Maine, towns are served at the pantry and free mobile markets, the release said.
The truck accident came at a critical time. The number of people needing Gather’s support continues to grow, said Executive Director Anne Hayes.
In July, Gather served 11,750 people, the highest number in its history. Gather’s pantry market in Portsmouth serves an average of 2,450 people a month, with more than 1,000 new households registering to receive free food and prepared meals in the past year.
Hayes said there’s also been a big jump in the numbers served by Gather’s mobile markets, which have more than 7,000 recipients a month.
At the same time, food donations have decreased, Hayes said. “So, the need for donations is significant,” she said.
The nonprofit welcomes non-perishable food donations, as well as money to buy fresh food at a reduced price, Hayes said.
The Brook’s support of Gather continues as well. This weekend, beginning Thursday and ending Monday, the Seabrook casino is hosting a charitable gaming week to support the food pantry.
