With Giving Tuesday still in the public consciousness, and the holiday season making all of us aware of why we reach out to neighbors and community members we may not know, the idea of feeding people is at the forefront.
And the food is sorely needed. The number of people served each month by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has grown significantly, averaging 75,000 in 2023 compared with 53,000 who were served monthly in 2019, according to the 2023 Hunger Survey conducted for the food bank by the Survey Research Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Released in November by the food bank, the survey revealed that 79% of people receiving food assistance have incomes below the federal poverty level. Among households with children, the number is closer to 90%. Approximately 120,000 Rhode Islanders – 11% of the state’s population – live in households with incomes below the poverty level. Incidentally, that threshold for a family of four is $30,000 a year.
In food service, there is a second nature that comes into play whenever a need arises.
The Warren-based Hope & Main culinary launch pad has a component of the innate giving nature of those who choose to cook for others in keeping with its mission to empower entrepreneurs to become thriving food businesses. Thousands of vulnerable Rhode Islanders can access healthy meals when and where they need them through Hope & Main’s Nourish Our Neighbors program, which provides meals prepared by local food businesses to food-insecure community members.
Hope & Main has delivered 63,000 meals to more than a dozen nonprofit human services agencies statewide, generating more than $500,000 for its early-stage food businesses, of which 44% are minority-owned and 72% are women-owned.
What initially grew out of necessity has evolved into a highly sought-after service by many Rhode Island agencies whose clients face food insecurity, including women’s resource centers, housing authorities, Head Start, and even the Providence Public Library teen center.
“This program was a lifeline to my small business, and a vital revenue source for our growth,” said Haley Rego, a founder who launched her business, Holistic Trick, during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It allowed me to serve a community that would not ordinarily be able to access my food.”
Shelby Doggett, Nourish Our Neighbors program director, said the quality of the meals attracted attention from the community.
“Anyone wishing to support Nourish Our Neighbors can purchase a BOGO [buy one, give one] meal for $20, which allows them to take a meal home to enjoy and enables us to distribute a free meal on their behalf,” Doggett said. “This invites the community to participate in and promote food equity and support this innovative emergency meal access program created by Rhode Island, for Rhode Island.”
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VITAL PROGRAM: Holistic Trick founder and chef Haley Rego says Hope & Main’s Nourish Our Neighbors program, which provides meals from local food businesses to food-insecure community members, was vital to the growth of her small business.
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Instead of making a monetary contribution, people wishing to donate buy a $20 meal for themselves, which allows another meal to be given to a neighbor in need.
BOGO meals can be purchased at Hope & Main’s Downtown Makers Marketplace straight from the Nourish Our Neighbors freezer in the store at 100 Westminster St. in Providence.
It is a novel way to give back to food-insecure neighbors throughout the holidays while supporting your favorite up-and-coming local food businesses. Meals are distributed at community partner sites such as the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center, Bristol Senior Center, Domestic Valley Resource Center, East Bay Community Action Program Head Start in Warren, East Bay Recovery Center, Bristol Warren Regional School District, Rhode Island Center Assisting Those in Need, St. Mary of the Bay, Women’s Resource Center, Warren Housing Authority and others. You can find more information, including the changing weekly menu items, at the Hope & Main website: makefoodyourbusiness.org/nourish-our-neighbors.
With support from hundreds of donors, dozens of volunteers and highly committed community partners, food industry members are working to ensure that local food-insecure families and other vulnerable individuals can access wholesome, prepared meals at a time when nutritious food is critical to maintaining good health.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, can be heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
