Today's Hours:
Food Pantry: Demo Text
Thrift Shop: Demo Text
Food Pantry
Thrift Shop
Both Closed
Monday: 10am-4pm
Tuesday: 10am-4pm
Wednesday: 10am-6:30pm
  • Guest choice
  • Pre-bagged
  • Online order pick-up
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 10am-3pm
  • Pre-bagged
  • Online order pick-up
Fresh Food Fridays
  • Guests may shop every Friday for produce and bread
  • Offerings vary each week.
Food4Kids
  • 10am – Noon
  • Guests may shop every week
Food4Seniors
  • 10am – Noon
  • REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Mobile Cart
  • Franklin Court Assisted Living Residents Only
  • 2nd and 4th Fridays 9:30-10:30am
Saturday: 10am-4pm
Sunday: Closed
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Easy Bay Food Pantry & Thrift Shop
2009
  • EBFP is established as an outreach of the First Congregational Church in Bristol in response to a recognition of growing need in the area.

  • Received non-profit status in December, operating as an independent organization that included (as it does today) a food pantry supported by a thrift shop.
2010
  • Added a voucher program for families/individuals in need of Thrift Shop items.

  • Developed the Access Nutrition Initiative to improve healthy food options in our pantry and encourage healthy choices through education and community engagement. The Access Nutrition Initiative has grown to the point where we now spend at least 95% of our food purchasing dollars on healthy foods.
2011
  • Added Fresh Food Friday to provide weekly access to fresh produce and bread. Fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and greens make up approximately ¼ of the food we distribute.
2012
  • Developed our Food4Kids program to provide supplementary breakfast and lunch foods for kids 0-17 to ensure they have the nutrition they need, especially during weekends and school vacations when they may lose access to meals through school or daycare.

  • Partnered with SNAP Ed to provide monthly cooking classes (later we transitioned to partnering with the Bristol Health Equity Zone to provide monthly cooking classes).
2015
  • Became a Core member of the Bristol Health Equity Zone (BHEZ) and a member of the BHEZ Steering Committee.
2016
  • Partnered with the RI Community Food Bank (RICFB), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and RI Division of Elderly Affairs to provide monthly Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) boxes for low-income seniors.
2017
  • Developed our Mobile Pantry program to deliver groceries to homebound individuals and families in need.

  • Became the RI Community Food Bank Anchor Agency for the East Bay area due to our size, leadership, and consistently exemplary performance.
2018
  • Began our Farm2Pantry program to grow additional fresh produce for Fresh Food Fridays and our Food Pantry.
2019
  • Developed our Mobile Cart program to deliver supplementary food and personal care products to residents in Franklin Court Assisted Living.
2020
  • Began providing pre-bagged food due to Covid restrictions. When we returned to guest-choice programming, we retained the option of pre-bagged Food Pantry and Food4Kids food for those guests who prefer it.
2021
  • Developed Online Ordering to combine the convenience of pre-bagged food with greater choice and a regularly updated inventory.

  • Partnered with Hugh-Cole School to provide food deliveries to families unable to access the Food Pantry due to transportation or language barriers.
2023
  • EBFP sees its largest year yet, both in terms of amount of food distributed and thrift shop revenue. All food programs grew to accommodate increased participation.
About Us
Home / About Us

Mission

Our mission is providing hunger relief services in the East Bay community.

Vision

Our vision is that every person in the East Bay will have access to nutritious food and no one will go hungry.

Values

Our values are: 

 

  • Welcoming

  • Dignity

  • Respect

  • Accessibility

  • Teamwork

How to Find Us

532 Wood Street

Bristol, Rhode Island 02809

Get Directions

Our Staff

Emily Mushen

Executive Director

emily@eastbayfoodpantry.org

Jocelyn King

Food Programs Manager

jocelyn@eastbayfoodpantry.org

Jodi Miller

Thrift Shop Manager

jodi@eastbayfoodpantry.org

Ann Roussel

Food Programs & Office Coordinator

ann@eastbayfoodpantry.org

Louise Dion

Customer Service

Kelly Pianka

Assistant Thrift Shop Manager

Nancy Faria

Customer Service

Vicki Hopper Koppelman

Customer Service

Rick Salisbury

Driver

Matt Peters

Maintenance and Customer Service

Tom Johnson

Thrift Store Intake Supervisor

Jane Tancrell

Customer Service

Our Board

Mary Mack Popham

President

Executive Vice President, TriMack Plastics Manufacturing Corp.

Diane Lennon

Vice President

Retired Coordinator of Quality Management, New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities

Gina Helm

Treasurer

Vice President, Centreville Bank

Barbara Robinson

Secretary

Nutritionist and Educator

 

Keith Enos

Retired Shipyard General Manager

Kym Januario

Sales and Marketing

Maria Cesario

Accounting and Finance

Daniel Laufer

Retired Attorney

Get to Know Our Story

Since 2009, the East Bay Food Pantry (EBFP) has worked to reduce hunger and increase nutrition across the East Bay, operating with a mission of “providing hunger relief services in the East Bay community.” Our efforts have been recognized by the RI Community Food Bank with multiple “Best of the Best” awards and we are best practices certified. Last year, EBFP served 2,400 food-insecure individuals in 1,180 households.

We serve food-insecure individuals and families from three counties: Bristol, Providence, and Newport. In addition to food distribution at our client-choice food pantry in Bristol, we also deliver food to the homebound, supplement meals for children when school is closed, provide supplementary
food and toiletries for seniors, offer fresh food weekly (produce and bread), partner with local farms to ensure enough fresh produce, and provide nutrition education to help clients make healthy food choices for their families.

Our food pantry uses a client choice model with flexible hours (including one evening each week) and online ordering is available to help reduce wait time. Materials are offered in Spanish, Portuguese, and English and volunteers are available to help translate for non-English-speakers.

Our thrift shop is open to the public and is supplied by donations of clothing, housewares, and more from the community. All thrift shop proceeds fund the food pantry.