Giving back is such a huge part of the holiday season and recent news about the rise in hunger and homeless in America has touched the hearts of everyone at GalTime. This week, we visited a food pantry and a food bank in Massachusetts with donations of food and personal care items.
The first one, located in Somerset is the Annelle Delorme-Hagerman Food Pantry at the Church of Our Savior, which serves 13 communities in Southeastern Mass (also including Tiverton, RI). They currently help 685 active families at a rate of 211 families per month. In the month of November 11,776 pounds of food were given away to 353 households.
The next distribution is Saturday, Dec 17th from 9-11am with hot meals starting about 45 minutes before. If you would like to volunteer or donate, please contact them at (508) 677-3825.
GalTime also donated nearly 200 pounds of food to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank in Lowell. We were welcomed by Executive Director Amy Pessia.
The Merrimack Valley Food Bank is one of four food banks in Massachusetts that provides nutritious food and personal care items to food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens, which in turn serve individuals and families.
Each year, the MVFB distributes millions of pounds of food to more than 100 member agencies in dozens of communities in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.
Other MVFB programs include:
- The Mobile Pantry Program - delivers groceries to home-bound, low income elderly and disabled people in the area.
- The Summer Lunch Program - provides an average of 7,000 nutritional lunches to low-income children in Lowell in conjunction with sponsored activities.
- The Community Market - a seasonal program (July - November) offering fresh, locally grown produce to low-income Lowell residents of a specific neighborhood.
- Operation Nourish - a pilot program that started in September 2011 that provides supplemental food to pre-K through 4th grade students at a Lowell school for weekends and school vacations when they are not in school.
We realize that hunger is a year-round problem, so these small donations are just the beginning of a larger GalTime campaign. We are dedicating 2012 to helping the cause... and will be asking you to join us if possible.
Stay tuned for more in the coming months.
Happy Holidays!
