The Peterborough Area Community Aid is a 501(c)(3) non-profit managed by an all-volunteer cadre of individuals intent on easing a bit of the burden for our neighbors in need. 

We are funded entirely through community support, individual private donations, corporate donations, and grants.  

Over 90% of all donations go directly to fund our three key programs: the Peterborough Food Pantry, the Peterborough Area Emergency Aid Program and the Hungry Students Program.  

 

Our Mission

The Peterborough Area Community Aid is a community based, all volunteer organization whose mission is to end hunger and ease distress by providing food and aid to those within the greater Monadnock region who find themselves in special need and crisis and, while doing so, to treat each person we serve with dignity and respect.   

 

Our History: 1996-TODAY

In 1996 James Lenane, the then Peterborough Town Welfare Administrator, and a band of like-minded friends decided to do something about those in our community who were “falling through the cracks” and underserved by available aid.  They initiated a community fund-raising effort and established the Peterborough Human Services Fund ("PHSF"), a 501(c)(3), nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to assisting Peterborough residents in crisis. 

Initially, the focus of PHSF was on Emergency Aid, not food.  The contents of what could barely be called a “food pantry” was kept on a shelf in a basement closet of the Peterborough Townhouse for, well, emergencies.  But as the years passed it became apparent that more people could be immediately helped by expanding that aspect of aid and directly addressing food insecurity. 

Under the leadership of Board President Christine Mann, and a tireless volunteer board of directors the PHSF moved the Food Pantry to its current location, the Peterborough Community Center at 25 Elm Street.  There, with the aid of a growing cadre of volunteers, we have been able to significantly increase the scope of offerings available as well as extend our services to 13 towns within the greater Monadnock Region. 

Each month, the Pantry serves over 300 families and households, including seniors, Veterans, the disabled, children, and working families who find it difficult to make ends meet distributing the equivalent of 3500 meals to qualified residents of Peterborough, Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, Jaffrey, New Ipswich, Rindge, Sharon and Temple.    

And the work continues as we find ways to meet evolving needs.  In 2014, seeking to address the plight of children struggling to concentrate at school because they arrived hungry, we launched the Hungry Students Program in collaboration with All Saints Church to supply healthy snacks and emergency vacation food for distribution to children in the 11 Conval public schools. 

In March of 2024, the company changed its name to Peterborough Area Community Aid ("PACA") to distinguish the organization from a Peterborough town department called Peterborough Human Services.

As an all-volunteer organization over 90% of all received donations are dedicated to fulfilling our mission of directly assisting those in need and, in the spirit of our founders, our funding is still solely derived from community donations and grants. 

 

Customer Bill of Rights

As a customer of the Peterborough Area Community Aid and the Peterborough Food Pantry, you have the right to:

• Confidentiality.  We will not share any of your personal information.

• Be informed about our policies and procedures for receiving food or emergency aid.

• Be treated with dignity and respect at all times.

• Receive food and services in a safe environment.  Violence, theft, profanity or verbal abuse will not be tolerated.

• Accept or refuse all or part of our services.

• Receive food and services without discrimination on the basis of age, race, family status, national origin, gender identification, disability, religious belief or sexual preference/orientation.

• Receive food that meets local, state and federal standards for food safety.

• Receive food free of charge without being required to pay, work, or make a donation.

We uphold these rights for all our customers.  

Pantry staff has the authority to ask customers to leave if they are not respecting our policies.   Any customer has the right to leave the premises if she/he/they is/are unhappy with our policies or the services that are provided.  

 

Leadership

Our volunteer Board members each serve three to six year terms.

Our Board

 

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