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Several MHS teams compete in the playoffs
Sixth graders get creative at vocab parade
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Have you checked out the new Cookbook Club?
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NOVEMBER 5, 2025
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VOLUME 3, ISSUE NO. 50
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Celebrating 150 Issues of the Current!
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COMMUNITY
Local volunteers join food rescue efforts BY LEIGH BLANDER As food prices surge and federal benefits appear in jeopardy during the government shutdown, volunteers around Marblehead are working nearly every day with food rescue programs to ensure that no groceries or meals go to waste. On Oct. 28, Mimi Hollister and Richard Thibedeau picked up 100 pounds of produce and bread — past their prime but still healthy and nutritious — from Crosby’s Marketplace in Marblehead and delivered it to Lifebridge in Salem. Hollister and Thibedeau are members of Old North Church. Volunteers from ONC bring food from Crosby’s to Lifebridge Monday through Friday, and they’ve been doing it for the last 11 years. The total amounts to about 280,000 pounds.
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER
Old North Church volunteers Mimi Hollister and Richard Thibedeau pick up 100 pounds of produce and bread products from Crosby’s to deliver to Lifebridge in Salem.
“It’s a huge help,” said Karen Andrews, who runs the kitchen at Lifebridge. “We go through what would have been thrown away and pull all salvageable produce and bread from the bags.”
She added that the donations are especially valuable during the fall and winter months “when our gardens are no longer producing fresh produce.” Thibedeau is amazed at how Andrews whips the food into a
feast. “She takes it all, waves her magic wand and turns it into a wholesome meal for residents and needy people,” he said. Lifebridge serves 60-80 guests three times a day, totaling about 7,000 meals a month. Thibedeau, 80, looks forward to his weekly volunteer job. “I’m doing something concrete to help the needy of the world,” he said. “I can’t save the world, but I can do something that’s practical. If every grocery store in the country allowed this to happen — hooking up with a church, Rotary Club — you would go a long way to solving the food crisis in America.” Crosby’s also partners with Marblehead-based nonprofit SPUR, whose volunteers pick up food from Crosby’s three days a week and deliver it to Elliot House in Swampscott, RCC in
Lynn and the Lynn Community Fridge. “We like giving back to the community,” said Crosby’s Marblehead General Manager Mike Bosse. “Times are tough. All the food is still good. We have great products. If an apple has a little dent on it, it’s still delicious. We were throwing out so much, it was like, ‘We have to think of ways to give back.’” SPUR also partners with Shubie’s to deliver food to the Anchor Food Pantry in Swampscott and Ruth’s Way in Lynn. “It tends to be a lot of baked goods, but our prepared foods certainly make it into their orange pick-up bags — mini cheeseboards, crudite, tuna salad, chicken tenders. As long as we are confident that VOLUNTEERS, P. 2
KNOCK KNOCK
Local Halloween traditions a townwide treat BY LUCA TEDESCO AND LEIGH BLANDER Thousands of people (and monsters, superheroes, princesses etc.) hit the streets of Marblehead last week to celebrate Halloween. The hottest attraction was the giant, animated hermit crab, designed and built by Marblehead architect Tom Saltsman outside his home at 32 Pleasant St. Crowds gathered to watch the 10-foottall creature, the latest in 20 years of Halloween installations Saltsman has created. Around the corner, Beatles tribute band, Studio Two, played in the Jeremiah Lee Mansion garden to a crowd of people singing along. Thursday night, hundreds of trick-or-treaters filled downtown
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
Marblehead going store to store for sweet treats. “I came out to get candy,” said Hunter, 9, who dressed up in a Jalen Hurts Philadelphia Eagles jersey. “My favorite candy is Snickers!” Local business owners were also enjoying Thursday evening’s festivities “I love seeing how thriving the Marblehead business district is,” said Noelle English, owner of B-Tone Fitness. “I love seeing clients walking by with their kids and kids telling me ‘My mom comes here every day.’” And at the Lee Mansion, scores of pumpkins carved by Marblehead’s best and brightest jack-o’-lantern designers lit up the night for the 17th annual Pumpkin Illumination. HALLOWEEN, P. 8
Tom Saltsman’s giant, moving hermit crab captivates Halloween crowds.
CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER