Our Food Forward was established in 2016 with the goal of helping those in our community who are food insecure.
We added one dollar to the price of our Church suppers and it’s that extra dollar the funds the program. A great meal is enjoyed and that little extra means someone else will eat as well, thus paying it forward.
In 2016 the Food Forward program raised $929, in 2017 $809, and in 2018 $888. Current recipients of the funds include Kid’s Summer Café and an Attleboro emergency homeless shelter.
Kids Summer Café is sponsored by The Attleboro Interfaith Collaborative. It works to combat childhood hunger by providing children with a healthy lunch over the summer months. Many children who receive free or subsidized lunches during the school year face a high risk of hunger when school is not in session. Free bagged lunches are distributed weekly at four local playgrounds. No child is turned away and over 2900 lunches are served.
The Attleboro emergency homeless shelter is a winter only shelter providing basic overnight accommodations. The shelter cannot serve food and cannot be open during the day, so the residents are back on the street, in the cold, each morning. The Food Forward project has been purchasing $5 McDonalds gift cards to be given to the shelter residents. That $5 gift card provides them with a meal and a brief respite from the cold.
We would like to expand our giving and are considering other groups we can pay it forward to. If you have any recommendations please let us know!
Respectfully submitted: James Koepfler