Stepping Up: Bank of America, Boys & Girls Clubs team up to feed local families

BANK OF AMERICA and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island on Thursday celebrated 25,000 meals delivered to members and families since May, with meals made and donated from the bank's Lincoln call center. Pictured from left to right are Bonnie Piekarski, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island’s Woonsocket clubhouse init director, Pedro Alvarez, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island’s Woonsocket clubhouse staff and food distribution team, Jacob Murphy, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island’s Cumberland clubhouse staff and food distribution team and Trevor Lee, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island’s Cumberland teen center director and food distribution team. / COURTESY BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND

LINCOLN – When the state issued stay-at-home orders, Bank of America quickly emptied out its offices, including its local call center.

That meant the sprawling corporate cafeteria designed to feed the center’s 900 employees also sat empty. But not for long.

The temporarily silent kitchen was brought back to life in May, with Bank of America’s food vendor Compass Group USA cooking up spaghetti and meatballs, orange chicken and other freshly made meals. Instead of feeding the company workers, a majority of whom are still working remotely, the meals are going to local Boys & Girls Clubs members, their families and community members.

Bank of America and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence and Northern Rhode Island have been longstanding partners, so it made sense to reach out to them when determining how best to reuse the bank’s Lincoln cafeteria, said Sean Dagesse, market manager for Bank of America in Rhode Island.

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What he learned was that, aside from unemployment, food insecurity was the biggest challenge facing families as a result of the pandemic. That none of the 25,000 meals the bank has distributed since May have gone to waste only confirms the need.

“Food insecurity was already an issue, but it really exploded after the pandemic,” Dagesse said.

Gary Rebelo, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island, agreed. The club typically distributes about 60,000 meals between its Cumberland and Woonsocket locations each year. But with capacity limits on its child care center and other programs closed altogether, it was harder to reach the same number of members and families.

The 300 daily meals from Bank of America – split between the northern Rhode Island and Providence clubs – ensure members and their families are fed, as well as people within the wider community. Residents of local senior housing developments, for example, have also received meal deliveries, since many remain confined to their homes and without access to fresh food, Rebelo said.

Bank of America plans to continue the meal distribution until its employees return to the office, a date for which has not been determined, Dagesse said.

Providence Business News is spotlighting nonprofits, companies and workers stepping up to challenges presented by the spread of the new coronavirus.

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