Bread & Roses - Community Kitchen and Emergency Pantry

This year, our Emergency Pantry’s impact grew by almost 1000%. But if we're being honest, on a daily basis, we don't really think about statistics. Of course, statistics are important and we track how we're making an impact, the pounds of food we divert from landfills and back into the community, and more! But...everyday, we aren’t thinking about end of year statistics and how much we’ve grown. We’re thinking about the person standing in front of us doing one of the hardest things in the world: asking for help. Our team has been on the other side of many non-profit doors. We’ve been handed a bag of cans. We’ve walked through a pantry with no one there to answer a question or answer the question in our primary language. We make it our mission to be different from these spaces. On a daily basis, we're thinking about learning what products people prefer and seeking it out from our Food Rescue Partners. We're helping someone fill out a job application or teaching a father how to braid his daughter’s hair. It’s an honor to know that thousands of people trust us with their family’s care every single week. We don’t take this fact lightly. So even as we track things everyday, we aren't really thinking about the numbers. All we are thinking is that this is about more than just food. This is a community. 🥖🌹🫶 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eNcu7DsM

A big welcome to Colby and Bazl from all of us at Bread & Roses! We're looking forward to working together to fight hunger and empower our community across the Merrimack Valley.

When our community comes together, amazing things happen... We have a new stove!!! Many of you may know that we have been cooking for nearly 200 people nightly with only one stove and one working burner. This new stove is a huge help for our Community Meals. How did we get the stove? Well we have our incredible community to thank for that. Our wonderful friend Joan Kulash from Community InRoads connected B&R with the Executive Director, Tiffany of Hancock Academy. Hancock Academy’s mission includes diverting items from landfills and empowering and expanding the trade workforce. They located and helped us to load the stove into a U-Haul. Once the stove was on-site at B&R, the amazing volunteers from LiUNA Building Wreckers Local 1421 hauled the stove into the building. A true team effort! We’re so grateful to Hancock Academy for sharing our vision for #sustainability and helping us; to Joan for always connecting the right people at the right time; and the volunteers who made bringing in this massive stove look easy.

🧡 Today is #HungerActionDay, and we’re reflecting on how far we’ve come to meet the growing needs of our community.... This time last year, we rescued about 30,000 pounds of food a month. Now? We rescue that in a single day. Thanks to our incredible partners like Shaw's Supermarkets, Chick-fil-A Restaurants, Stop & Shop, Pleasant Valley Farm and Gardens, Lawrence General Hospital, and so many others, we’re able to provide a variety of food that includes fresh produce, protein, and options that meet our guests’ cultural and dietary needs. This growth happened because our community needed it, and while our team size remains the same, we’re fortunate to have more volunteers than ever before. Their dedication is critical to our mission. What sets us apart? We believe our patrons know what’s best for their families, and we support them with nutritious, high-quality food—however they choose. Today is a reminder that every action counts. We didn’t anticipate rescuing 2 million pounds of food this year, but we took action because our community needed it and we succeeded because of the incredible support we’ve received from our partners, donors, and volunteers. You have the power to take action and make a difference. Join us in the fight against food insecurity and help us continue to serve our community with dignity and care. Take action and: -learn more about donating: https://lnkd.in/emQGrcBZ -learn more about volunteering: https://lnkd.in/euKW4Ser -learn more about our partners: https://lnkd.in/eSDCbfSU

Our inspiring Executive Director Jessica Gordon is featured in the Boston Business Journal's People on the Move! Under Jess' leadership, B&R's small team of six people rescued over 2.6 million pounds of food last year (a 550% increase compared to the previous year!). This food includes fresh and non-expired protein, produce, and culturally relevant items that would otherwise be sent to a landfill. This self-sustaining and innovative model helps our community and helps our environment! Be sure to check out the full profile here: https://lnkd.in/eBnXyFTR

Recently, Forbes reported that Massachusetts had the second highest cost of living in the U.S at $55,491. Our neighbors make on average $30,696. The high costs of food, rent, electricity, gas, and other necessities make it incredibly difficult for low income, working families to afford all of their basic necessities. Families can’t survive like this. That’s where B&R comes in. Our grocery store style Emergency Pantry and nightly Community Meals served grab & go or dine in are a way to alleviate the struggle to pay for food. It’s one less thing for families to worry about with the drastic discrepancies in cost of living and wages for our community making things untenable. Want to get involved or help us continue to help more than 35,000 families every year? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eNcu7DsM — https://lnkd.in/eRicSnUt

Volunteers are 🔑! We have to give a huge shout-out to all of our friends at Merrimack College and the Austin Scholars! We are so lucky to have some of their incredible and compassionate students volunteering with us each semester. With a team as small as ours (just 8 full-time team members), helping 13,000+ people monthly is only possible because of our network of volunteers. These students are a huge part of our Community Meals, helping to package to-gos and preparing dinners and delivering meals restaurant-style to our guests eating in our dining room. Most importantly, they bring their bright smiles and friendliness–they are missed throughout our community every summer. 🫶 Are you or your team interested in making a big impact in your community? Get in touch with our Operations Manager, Helen Gabin, helen@breadandroseskitchen.org or learn more here: https://lnkd.in/euKW4Ser

It was a blast to have this team from Eversource Energy with us at B&R organizing our clothing donations, packaging dog food for distribution, and working in our pantry to help guests shop for their groceries! We’re so grateful for their positive and compassionate spirits! Volunteers are crucial to ensuring more than 13,000+ people monthly are able to access food, clothing, toiletries, laundry services and more. Grateful & thankful for our friends at Eversource!