Local Stories of Impact

Minnie’s Food Pantry + Nourishing Neighbors! Thanks for making it all possible

Meals on Wheels of Boston uses Nourishing Neighbors funds to provide key resources for Communities to respond to the one of the basic needs such as nutrition assistance to Seniors and needy families.

Generosity helps reduce hunger for children every week in Jefferson County Colorado.

In order for us to continue feeding students, Nourishing Neighbors funds are used for packaging materials such as take out containers, bags, microwavable containers, labels for heating instructions, and other relevant packaging materials. This enables us to utilize a non-congregate method of feeding in which meals are picked up and taken home for consumption, ensuring we are bridging that nutrition gap.

Maryland PTA Food and Gift Card Giveaway

SSPI uses Nourishing Neighbors Funds to prepare and/or purchase approximately 9,000 meals to provide to more than 450 senior citizens aged 60 and older. Participants receive ten meals each week for four weeks during the COVID-19 Shelter In Place event. Meals are delivered via the SSPI Meals on Wheels program, or through a drive-thru pick service available at the the Sonora Senior Center.

With this funding, The Awareness Project has be able to expand our food pantry services for families in need, and created more healthy in-house meals for the summer kids program. In addition, the funds equipped them with the mobility we need to deliver healthy meals to seniors and veterans in the community.

Work at the Homer Food Pantry

Given the impact of COVID-19, Nourishing Neighbors funding helps to provide meals to underprivileged youth that normally obtain meal support from their school systems. In addition, educational resources are being provided to these youth in order to support continued learning at home while they don’t have the same access to educational resources at home.

Nourishing Neighobrs funds are a big help to our organization in serving the vulnerable seniors & families affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. Our aim is to keep them safe & healthy in this time of crisis.

MVPSF Cops & Gobblers COVID Relief program

ForTheKids.org partners with Nourishing Neighbors

With these unforeseen circumstances, we are serving 2,000 people per month currently, more then double our normal capacity with many outreach outlets not even used yet. We have run out of proteins, pastas, produce and other healthy choices for the families of Spokane to “shop” for, and there is no end in sight. We have also had to hire on temporary help due to lack of volunteers. Every bit of Nourishing Neighbors funds go towards food purchase, pay for temporary hires, and other unexpected needs that keep getting thrown at us!

Moms Against Poverty (MAP) has partnerships with the following schools, centers, and other institutions that rely on us to provide these grocery packages to their low-income constituents. All of the families we serve have an average of 3 children per family and are facing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The locations are as follows:
Burckhalter Elementary School;
Castro Valley Unified school District;
El Shaddai Ministriesl;
Homeless Prenatal Center SF;
Kaleo Christian Church;
MISSEY Oakland;
Peninsula Family Services.

Unlike many food providers in the area, MAP puts a unique emphasis on healthy foods, providing fresh fruits and vegetables and proteins in the grocery packages.

Funding helps support Senior Concerns’ Home Delivered Meals Programs, providing freshly prepared meals to homebound seniors in the Conejo Valley of eastern Ventura County. In addition, funding also helps support Senior Concerns’ Grocery and Errand Service, and Pantry Program, allowing Senior Concerns to match volunteers to seniors who will do shopping or deliver items from our pantry (no charge for pantry items) to seniors who are self-isolated at home due to the pandemic.

Fresh Food 4 Kids provides food access to children and their families in high need areas. The Program distributes groceries once or twice a month through an efficient distribution method set up in front of the school. This new method accommodates social distancing guidelines and modified schedules as needed.
The school receives a delivery of approximately 4-6 pallets of assorted foods, including produce, boxed items, cooler, and freezer items. Each site has the flexibility to work out a distribution process that fits their own unique needs.
Distribution Examples:
• Farmers market style
• Drive-up distribution
• Pre bagged hand out

Desert Mission Food Bank works year-round to help families in crisis by providing emergency food boxes, supplemental nutritional foods, senior food boxes, infant food, Weekend Snack Pacs for children, off-site pantries, and holiday meal boxes. Last year 30,972 people were served by the Food Bank representing more than 13,000 households. Our request represents the funding needed to assist 15,486 individuals during Q3 and Q4 (July – Dec) of which 5,110 (33%) represent children ages birth – 17 years. The Food Bank expects to serve about 129 people per service day during July through December.

Project 48 has partnered with New Avenues for Youth and NAYA, and along with resources at DHS, continue to provide grocery gift cards to foster youth in Multnomah County. All of the above mentioned organizations serve and have access to foster youth of all ages and ethnicities, so as to ensure all youth are provided for.

Valley of the Sun YMCA, a non-profit community benefit organization with 15 branches located throughout the state of Arizona will reach food-insecure youth and provide meals – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – as well as snacks to all children in our childcare and preschool programs and any children and families in need of meals through a drive-up meal service. In 2019, sites served 109,865 meals and 33,354 snacks to children who otherwise would have experienced food insecurity.

Nourishing Neighbors funds are used to purchase insulated soft coolers to transport food to our families during the summer and teachers classrooms during the school year given CDC restrictions in the cafeteria.
Funds are also used to purchase all CDC recommended safety items for schools that would not normally not come out of a school budget.

Comitis Crisis Center located in Aurora, Colorado on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, is the only 24/7 housing shelter where we welcome individual adults, children, families, and veterans. For over 50 years, Comitis has been providing effective and accessible programs and services offering critical intervention, emergency housing, short-term treatment, follow-up aftercare, community outreach adn preventive education. These services are offered to homeless, near-homeless, and the working poor of all ages. Services are provided 100% free of charge and includes: food, clothing, shelter, case management, parenting classes, functional family therapy, employment training, workforce development, life skills, financial literacy classes and bus tickets.

Nourishing Neighbors funds are used for increased procurement costs for gathering donated food: fuel, maintenance of our trucks and equipment.

Single moms are probably the most overwhelmed and unfortunately overlooked population when it comes to Covid-19 relief in Baltimore City. Many single moms do not participate in the many free food giveaways across the city mainly because they would probably have to subject their kids to tagging along as they do not have childcare or they can potentially contract the virus and endanger their children at home.

The BGC Healthy Food Cooking Kits include proteins, whole grains, fresh vegetables, herbs + spices, recipe cards and essential cooking supplies to encourage healthy eating habits during the pandemic. The kit supports Black Girl Cook’s mission of teaching youth how to live a healthier lifestyle while simultaneously bringing the entire family together by preparing new dishes per the recipe cards provided.

WakWay Inc continues to provide Farm 2 Table healthy options to families in a food desert area of Phoenix. Meal choices are based on concerns that some families may not have access to utilities or even food banks. Volunteers are always youth based to let them take PRIDE in service to the community even their community. Sometimes just the opportunity to serve helps in the hunger fight that they can’t control. Giving them a moment to have dignity in a crises that is no fault of their own.

Center For Food Action’s Pandemic Response.

We have partnered with nourishing neighbors to send $100 gift cards from Albertsons / Tom Thumb to our families who have been laid off or dramatically reduced hours due to Covid-19.