Region – School is out for the summer, which for many kids means sunny days snacking on watermelon, making s’mores at summer camp and trips out for ice cream. But for nearly 20,000 MetroWest school children it means no longer having access to vital in-school food programs such as free and reduced lunch. Throughout the MetroWest region, the reality is that many children, as well as elders, individuals with disabilities and those in emergency situations will struggle this summer and in the coming year finding enough to eat.
Five years ago, the Foundation for MetroWest, along with many of its dedicated fund holders, established the MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund. Supporting your town’s food pantry and community supper is important, officials noted, however, a solely local approach is simply not enough to end a regional problem.
Through its work with area service providers, the Foundation has discovered that individuals often visit a variety of different food pantries in their areanot just the one in their hometownto put food on the table each night.
This July, the Foundation will be tackling regional hunger head on with a new initiative. Every donation made to the MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund will be matched all month long up to $55,000.
Donations can be made online through the Foundation’s website (www.foundationformetrowest.org) or by mailing a check to the Foundation for MetroWest office at 3 Eliot St., Natick, MA 01760. (Note “MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund” in the memo line.)
Over the past five years, the MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund has distributed over $300,000 to food support agencies throughout the 33 cities and towns it serves. In 2014 it granted over $87,000 to 40+ organizations across the region. To learn more, visit www.foundationformetrowest.org or call 508-647-2260.