East Bay “Eats Strong” During Covid-19 Crisis Thanks to New Hope & Main-based Program
East Bay “Eats Strong” During Covid-19 Crisis Thanks to New Hope & Main-based Program
BUY ONE-GIVE ONE
Nourish Our Neighbors launches with 2,400 free meals distributed, and counting
WARREN, RI — HOPE & MAIN, the nonprofit food business incubator, recently launched the Nourish Our Neighbors program with donations raised from more than 250 generous donors and a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund.
The program is a part of the nonprofit’s urgent response to support both the community and the local food economy during the Covid-19 crisis.
Nourish Our Neighbors is designed to ensure that local families, individuals and seniors have access to wholesome, prepared meals at a time when access to nutritious food is an increasing and critical challenge.
“During these unprecedented times we are seeing the breakdown of the local food supply chain. It makes no sense that the State’s farmers and fisherman have no market for what is locally cultivated and landed here, at the very moment when Rhode Islanders want fresh, local food. Consumers want to support them, but the distribution channels aren’t there. Nourish Our Neighbors is a way to support business continuity for our dozens of member companies as well as our local food system. Using the funds we raised, HOPE & MAIN-based chefs can purchase from local purveyors and prepare healthy food for vulnerable families in a time of need,” says Lisa Raiola, MPH, President and Founder of HOPE & MAIN. “There is nothing healthier than the food we cultivate and produce right here.”
The meals are a nutritious compliment to the free breakfasts and lunches supplied by the Bristol Warren School District that HOPE & MAIN has been distributing since mid-March from 8am-11am every Monday through Friday. The Nourish Our Neighbors team is also delivering 220+ frozen, reheatable meals each Friday to the area’s three Senior Centers. All of the Nourish Our Neighbors meals are provided at absolutely no cost to recipients.
An anonymous participant who retrieves meals daily for herself and housebound neighbors said “If I needed to use one word to describe it, ‘amazing’ would be the word of choice. I’m honored to be able to help children and elders in my community by delivering such well-balanced meals to them during this time of need. The staff is truly amazing and make you feel so welcome when you go to pick up the meals. And I enjoy seeing the smiles on the faces of the families when I drop off the food to them. It gives me a feeling like never before in my heart that I know I’m truly helping others.”
Community-based food businesses like Gotham Greens, Blount Fine Foods and Granny Squibb have also contributed food and supplies, says Kelley McShane, Managing Partner, The Granny Squibb Company, “HOPE & MAIN has always been a great support to Rhode Islanders and the small business/start-up community. It’s incredible to see how they have stepped up during a time of crisis. We are honored to be able to play a small part in their efforts.”
Roger Williams University has additionally partnered with HOPE & MAIN by providing a part-time staff member from Dining Services, Don Fitting, to help exclusively with the Nourish Our Neighbors program. “As part of our mission to strengthen society, RWU is proud to support HOPE & MAIN’s efforts to provide assistance to those impacted by Covid-19 through unemployment, public school facility closings, and to our local senior citizens,” said President Ioannis Miaoulis. Raiola notes, “As a life-long East Bay resident, Don has been a wonderful resource bringing both talent and heart to this ambitious initiative.”
Now three weeks into operations, HOPE & MAIN’s team is organizing to distribute 800-900 prepared meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. Caterers, prepared meal companies, restaurants and food trucks based at the nonprofit’s facility are eagerly stepping up to assist, many adapting and re-focusing their business models to meet current demand. Companies like Savory Fare, The Holistic Trick, Mise, Flat Waves, BSquared, Good Vines, Basil & Bunny and others are staying active, cooking up wholesome, ready-to-eat meals, incorporating local ingredients (including other HOPE & MAIN makers’ products) when possible.
“Being a part of Nourish Our Neighbors has been an incredible blessing for all of us at Flat Waves Food Shack. When 100% of our catering business was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were very concerned about the immediate future of our business,” says Will Burgess, owner of Flat Waves Food Shack and member of HOPE & MAIN’s copacking program, “Nourish Our Neighbors has helped keep our entire staff working, provided an outlet for our perishable food that otherwise may have spoiled, and brought some positivity, hope, joy (and income) to our business!”
The latest development in the Nourish Our Neighbors program is dubbed “Buy One, Give One”, intended to help sustain support in the months to come. Anyone with the means to do so can purchase a single-serving meal through HOPE & MAIN’s website. For that cost, one meal will be available for the purchaser to pick up on Monday evenings and one will be reserved for a community member in need for later in the week. Says Raiola: “These are beautiful, healthy meals, freshly prepared with care in our kitchens. I love that we will all be able to eat the same food — almost like gathering at the same table — to create a community of common support. This is how, together, we will get through this.”
For more information on Buy One, Give One, accessing meals or to donate to the Nourish Our Neighbors program please visit
www.makefoodyourbusiness.org/nourish-our-neighbors.
community@makefoodyourbusiness.org
or call (401) 245-7400.
ABOUT HOPE & MAIN
HOPE & MAIN is Rhode Island’s premier business incubator for food and beverage companies. We help local entrepreneurs jump-start early-stage food companies and food related businesses by providing low cost, low risk access to shared-use commercial kitchens and other industry-specific technical resources. Our goal is to help grow the local food economy by creating a community of support for food entrepreneurs and cultivating an environment where emerging culinary startups can test, create, scale and thrive. HOPE & MAIN is a nonprofit organization.