Targeting the Food Insecurity Struggle
Two of the largest groups of individuals that benefit from our pantry every day we are open are the elderly and disabled.
A woman in her 80’s called us earlier this week needing food. But due the pain she suffers from in her hip, standing for any period of time is extremely difficult. However, because of her dire need for food, she was willing to endure the pain of waiting in line to get something to eat.
She was thrilled and thankful when we told her of our made-to-order food box, where she can go online, choose the food she wants, drive-up and the box of food she created would be placed in the back of her car.
We helped her navigate through the online ordering process and she was able to obtain the food while remaining in the comfort of her car. She was gracious and so very thankful.
Lydia takes care of her 11-year-old daughter that was born blind, mute and suffers with paralysis of her lower extremities. Her daughter Kimberly had just been discharged from the hospital and Lydia could not leave her to come and pick up the pantry food box she had ordered online. She called very anxious. They were out of food and her husband is an immigrant who cannot speak English. We were able to instruct Lydia on what her husband had to do to pick up their food box. When he arrived, we would have someone at the pantry who spoke Spanish and would be there to greet him.
Battling food insecurity is something the elderly and disabled disproportionally face. Many of them are being supported by our delivery and drive-up programs every week. Your ongoing contributions to our pantry have alleviated the fear, anxiety and hunger they have been facing daily. Thank you for your partnership.
We also want to thank so many of you that helped to raise over $110,000 at our “Share the Love Gala” this year.
The evening was fun and inspiring. We are so grateful for the support and contributions we received not only that night but for months leading up to the event. As we have communicated, those contributions will go toward expanding our current facilities to ensure we continue to support those families in our community facing hunger.
In the months to come you will hear more about how we are touching the lives of families in different parts of the state. For right now I wanted to take a moment to give you a picture of the support your partnership helped to provide for families in the month of March. We were able to serve 2,608 households representing 7,871 individuals. These families were served from our walk-up, drive-up, and delivery programs. It took over 100 very dedicated volunteers who come to the pantry, or drove their cars, or made phone calls to those all over the tri-county needing help. And we can’t forget our amazing, dedicated staff who regularly do out-of-the box feats to get the food to all who need it.
We continue our partnership with the Providence Gateway Clinic supporting many who come to the clinic and are food insecure. Through our embedded pantry and the work of their dedicated staff, families left the clinic with three to five days of groceries to feed their families. Hundreds of individuals benefited from that program in March. It continues to be one of the most innovative ways of getting food to families.
Your partnership has made all this possible.
Thanks to so many of you who have become monthly contributors. We want to encourage those of you who have not signed up to contribute monthly to consider starting. Many of the families that we are supporting are going through difficulties just for a period of time. Your financial support provides a bridge for them as they head toward better days. Below you will find the link where you can click below to donate.
Enjoy Spring!
Betty Brown
Executive Director
