Who Supports Us

The National Association of Letter Carriers works hard every week to get letters and packages to you, but this past weekend worked to get food FROM you to those in need! We’re sending a big thank you to them and to all who donated food during the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive on Saturday. Over 1360 pounds of much needed nonperishable food was collected in Concord. Thanks to Rob Slattery, our awesome Operations Manager (who took time from his weekend), and the postal workers who helped in transferring the food to banana boxes, loading them and driving overflow foods to our Beharrell Street donation center, where volunteers will sort it this week. Way to Stamp Out Hunger!

The kids at Kerem Shalom really know how to spread More Love Less Hunger with their Kids’ Bags donation – coming in at a whopping 592 pounds and 92 bags plus some extra supplies. Thank you very much for your support!

If you would like more information on how run a similar donation program visit https://www.opentable.org/donation-activities/

Chances are that you have already met Karen who volunteers for shifts at Open Table in nearly every area of the pantry. She works around 20 hours per week on shifts and even more behind the scenes. Karen works on the phone team making calls to clients to help them with their online orders, shops those orders on pick and pack teams, works both distribution and the client administration desk during the drive-by pantry and cooks in the kitchen specializing in vegetarian meals. She also serves as the kitchen coordinator working to schedule volunteers for the cooking and dishwashing shifts to assure the kitchen runs smoothly.

Karen is a long-time resident of West Concord, having lived in the area for over 30 years. When asked why she chose to donate her time to Open Table, she responded: “I feel strongly that no one in the community should experience food insecurity, and all should have access to a reliable and healthy food resource. Open Table’s approach to offering a variety of foods customized to the clients, combined with the wonderful meals the kitchen produces, truly reflects the mission of Open Table which I wholeheartedly support. I love helping people and giving time is the perfect way to do so. I speak with a subset of clients on a regular basis and hear the gratitude in their voices for what we provide– it is truly amazing. Volunteering has also given me opportunities to make new connections and meet a whole group of terrific, caring people whom I never would have met had I not volunteered here.”

Favorite vegetable?

Hands down, roasted cauliflower! And kale runs a very close second–raw in salads.

Restaurant or local business to recommend? 

Nashoba Bakery has the best bread and sandwiches; Marshall Farm for fresh veggies and West Side Creamery in Acton for homemade ice cream! 

When our fair program managers Soman and Barbara found we needed flour for resettling Afghan families, our super volunteer Tom Marshall contacted King Arthur Baking Company and they came to the rescue! King Arthur donated a full palette of 5lb bags, assuring that families could bake fresh bread and other recipes from their home country in their new country. Thanks, King Arthur, for spreading #morelovelesshunger.

Gilbert Tsang, Proprietor of MEM Tea Imports , saw our ask for staple products for our Afghan community clients and answered the call with a 500 pound donation of organic black tea, dried ancho chiles and ceylon tea! Thank you so much for helping us spread #morelovelesshunger with this generous donation!

We had the Acton Chinese-American Civic Society on site yesterday with red bags of goodies to wish our clients a Happy Lunar New Year! We love partnering with them each year to celebrate this holiday. Thank you for starting this year of the Tiger off with #morelovelesshunger !

Our President, Mary Siegel’s video thanks for all of the support we have received during our Annual Appeal campaign. Thank YOU for making a difference in the lives of those facing food insecurity in our community.

The Concord Carlisle Human Rights Council held a food drive for Martin Luther King, Jr Day outside of Crosby’s Marketplace and received 960 lbs of food that was transported with the help of The Fenn School van and volunteers to our Beharrell Street, Concord location. Thank you to all of the donors and volunteers who contributed to this effort and for helping us spread #morelovelesshunger !

One of our latest new programs have been helping dozens of Afghan families who are resettling in our area get started with some requested, culturally appropriate, food items to ease their transition. Thank you to all our volunteers who have packed these welcoming boxes for these special clients!

This week this delivery of 1381 lbs of food was sent to help 15+ Afghan families whose resettlement is being aided by International Institute of New England in Lowell. We are working with the IINE and several other local organizations to assure that these families have food and other necessities during this difficult transition. Sending a big thank you to Barbara Blankenship for her coordination efforts in this program.

We are happily accepting donations towards this effort, either monetary or food items. Learn more HERE. If you would like to support this and all of our efforts during our Annual Appeal season, please visit https://www.opentable.org/donate/ and donate today!

We are sending out a big thank you to all of the families who donated and volunteered (especially our groups from Trinity Congregational Church and Memorial Congregational Church) for our Family-to-Family Holiday Drive. And a special thanks to thanks to Carolyn Coffin who so expertly managed the program. We collected and distributed close to 250 gift bags to our senior and family clients. We appreciate your support and are wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Inflation is hitting everyone right now: you, our clients, and even Open Table. Just as groceries are costing you more, they and everything involved in getting food to people is costing us more as well. All while our client list has grown by 130 more, as refugees have recently resettled in the area.

The Gilson Family Foundation has generously offered a $50,000 match to help feed people in our community. We’re asking for your help. Every dollar you give today will be matched by them.

We know it’s a lot to ask when everyone is feeling the pain at the grocery store. But the best way we know to help our community is by making sure everyone has access to enough food. We do that by providing culturally appropriate groceries, preparing meals to go, and delivering food to our mobile pantry food partners. You can help by donating now.

Your neighbors will thank you.