Among Friends, a ministry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 166 High St., has distributed more than 6,000 free meals since April 1.
The program, which has been serving free meals to the community since 1983, provided over 6,800 meals to the Greater Newburyport area last year and is recording similar numbers this year in just half the time.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, program coordinator Bonnie Schultz said the need has only increased and so the services have expanded.
Among Friends offers three meals a week with dinner on Monday evenings and lunch on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Meals typically include an entrée, soup or salad, fruit, bread and butter, dessert and water, if needed.