Currently St. Joseph’s Food Pantry is an entirely volunteer run organization. There are stipends paid from grants for low-income mothers who help supervise summer programs for our area youth. Some of our volunteer staff are paid from Senior Employment (a government program) and the DTA assistance program but not from the pantry itself. It is our goal in the near future to provide salaries for prime positions in order to protect the future of the pantry operations.

VeAnn Campbell - has been the volunteer director since 1999. Under her direction the pantry grew from serving 120 families to 4000 families monthly. The volunteer base grew from 5 people to 125 people and she has involved other agencies in providing help for the pantry. New programs and services were introduced in her first year of operating the pantry. This past year the pantry was awarded in 2004 “Partner Agency of the Year” by the Greater Boston Food Bank. VeAnn became the City of Salem’s Woman Volunteer of the Year in 2001 and in 2002 was awarded the prestigious” Compass Award” by The North Shore Medical Foundation. She was highlighted in The Salem Evening News for six consecutive weeks in 2003 for her outstanding work. In 2009 Mrs. Campbell was selected as one of the 100 most influential people on the north shore and by the state of Massachusetts as one of top 100 women in the state.

VeAnn owned and operated her own convenient market from 1979-1985. She also worked in Salem and Beverly Hospital as a technician/secretary for a total of 22 years. Her involvement with Church and Community is well known. VeAnn has increased her knowledge of many computer based programs. “Mrs. Campbell” is her nickname and although she receives no salary, she is committed and devoted to the needs of the needy and to the pantry.

We have a total of 36 volunteers who perform different tasks each month. Some people volunteer every time we are open while others may work one hour or one day a month. Some people volunteer for special projects. Our volunteers are from a variety of backgrounds, races, and religious orientations. Our volunteers are from 9 years old to 81 years old. There are professionals as well as participants of the pantry itself. Some of our volunteers only speak Spanish; some only speak English, while others are bi-lingual.