Franklin Food Pantry: Time for a nibble!

What's new at The Pantry?

Hello, Happy Summer Days! As a much-appreciated donor, we want you to see how contribution has supported some particular programs for our neighbors in the recent months.  JULY 4th DISTRIBUTION This first ever distribution was a huge hit with our neighbors, their families and our staff. We distributed over 175 bags of items for a summer feast, including hot dogs, hamburgers, rolls, chips, condiments and cotton candy. Fun Bags of chalk, bubbles, footballs, American flags and more brought smiles to many faces. It was a brutally hot day but so worth it. Given the immense success, we hope to secure funding to permanently add July 4th Bags to our Holiday Distributions for Thanksgiving and Winter. FARMER'S MARKET at THE PANTRY We have incredible volunteers led by Jen Kuse who care for our 11 beds at the Community Garden on King Street. We also are lucky enough to receive fresh produce from local churches who grow fresh produce on their own premises. Your funding supports the costs for this vital program, including purchasing seeds, plants and equipment; renting and maintaining the beds; packaging the produce, and more. Below you will catch a glimpse of the amazing fresh herbs and vegetables - and wild flowers - that are grown, harvested and distributed to neighbors each week! . Thank you for your continued support of the Franklin Food Pantry! We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and we will see you in the fall as we kick off two our largest fundraising events of the year: the annual Turkey Trot and our popular food elves program! Franklin Food Pantry View this email as a webpage.

Franklin Food Pantry | 43 WEST CENTRAL STREET, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by loften@franklinfoodpantry.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!

Invisible Stories - #6 -"Los Angeles Homeless Man Produces Podcast with his Cellphone"

"I never woke up and said ... I want to live out here on the streets"

Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) tweeted on Sun, Jul 11, 2021:

Invisible Stories is a mini-doc series that goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages understand and can't ignore. 

Link to the 6th of the series: https://youtu.be/VixkQ6iu9_c

Theo Henderson's podcast =>   https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3dldGhldW5ob3VzZWQubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M?ved=0CAUQrrcFahcKEwightjc96LqAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQIg

Link to the series: https://t.co/Y0NRNIujar 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardlynormal/status/1414284287034155020

Note: I met Mark at a social media conference many years ago and have been following his work. This series is very well done. Yes, the series is set in LA but homelessness is an issue all around us whether visible or not.

 

Invisible Stories - #2 - "House Calls to Homeless People in Venice Beach"

"the intervention that counts is housing"

Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) tweeted on Sun, Jul 11, 2021:

Invisible Stories is a mini-doc series that goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages understand and can't ignore. 

Link to the second of the series: https://youtu.be/8N2Ry_g15KA

Link to the series: https://t.co/Y0NRNIujar 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardlynormal/status/1414284287034155020

Note: I met Mark at a social media conference many years ago and have been following his work. This series is very well done. Yes, the series is set in LA but homelessness is an issue all around us whether visible or not.

Invisible Stories - #1 - "We Can't Let Homeless People Die: USC Street Medicine on Skid Row"

Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) tweeted on Sun, Jul 11, 2021:

Invisible Stories is a mini-doc series that goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages understand and can't ignore. 

Link to the first of the series: https://youtu.be/RWVt_arzYoA

Link to the series: https://t.co/Y0NRNIujar 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardlynormal/status/1414284287034155020

Note: I met Mark at a social media conference many years ago and have been following his work. This series is very well done. Yes, the series is set in LA but homelessness is an issue all around us whether visible or not.

Invisible Stories - #1 - "We Can't Let Homeless People Die: USC Street Medicine on Skid Row"

Franklin Food Pantry: Introducing our Annual Report

Learn more about The Pantry in 2020

Introducing our Annual Report We are very excited to share our 2020 Annual Report (https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Annual-report-final-1.pdf) with you. This snapshot of Franklin Food Pantry's revenues, expenses, programs, donors and neighbors provides an update on our operations and the impact of your support. We faced many challenges this past year and are pleased that The Food Pantry emerged from The Pandemic stronger than ever and continues our mission to serve our neighbors. If you have any questions about The Pantry, please do not hesitate to visit our website or reach out to me directly. With deepest appreciation, Tina Powderly Executive Director Franklin Food Pantry tpowderly@franklinfoodpantry.org Franklin Food Pantry | Website

Franklin Food Pantry | 43 WEST CENTRAL STREET, Franklin, MA 02038 Sent by loften@franklinfoodpantry.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!

Project envoy continues its work - "Survey finds significant food insecurity among Massachusetts families"

Project Envoy will be at the community table for the next 5 weeks sharing information about food insecurity and bringing awareness to the Franklin Food Pantry.  

Be sure to stop by and visit them.

#buyfrankfresh #farmersmarket #franklinma

Shared from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/533086900084632/posts/4332672013459416/

Coincidentally, the Boston Globe has an article on a recent study by MassINC:

"Nearly half of Massachusetts parents in a recent survey said their families experienced food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic, but many who were eligible for federal assistance didn’t seek it because they weren’t fully informed about the program, according to The MassINC Polling Group.

About 47 percent of those surveyed reported experiencing food insecurity over the past year, but only about 40 percent of that group received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, according to a statement from MassINC.

Fewer than half of those making $25,000 a year or less, an income that would most likely allow them to qualify for SNAP, actually received benefits, according to the survey."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/24/metro/survey-finds-significant-food-insecurity-among-massachusetts-families/
 

The MassINC survey results:  https://www.massincpolling.com/the-topline/survey-p-ebt-helped-thousands-of-families-access-food-but-as-food-insecurity-remains-high-other-assistance-programs-are-underutilized

Produce at the South Street Congregational Church food pantry in Pittsfield, Mass.BEN GARVER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

FM #562 - Board of Health Mtg - 06/09/21 (audio)

FM #562 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 562 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Board of Health meeting held on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

The meeting was conducted in person at the Municipal Bldg third floor training room. There was also a Zoom session for remote participation and no one did. This was the first in person meeting since Feb 2020.

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 31 minutes, so let’s listen to the Board of Health meeting for June.  Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/f82d62b7-9494-48db-9871-3c5cac165c7e

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Board of Health agenda -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/agenda-06-09-2021_0.pdf

My notes captured from the meeting 

• Live reporting for Board of Health meeting underway #boh0609

• Cathleen provides update on work for new podcast The Topic, to explore a variety of health issues #boh0609

• Lots of ideas coming for the new podcast, BoH loves the concept #BoH0609

• Discussion on emergency condemnation, slow process but underway. #BoH0609 VNA contract ending Jun 30, hiring a nurse is underway.

• There is progress on the 27 Winter St property, as well as Jordan Road property. #BoH0609

• (I neglected to close out the meeting when it adjourned. Had some in person conversations to distract me from the process.)

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

 

screengrab of a prior virtual Board of Health mtg

The Greater Boston Food Bank: "Gaps in Food Access in Massachusetts During COVID-19"

The Greater Boston Food Bank (@Gr8BosFoodBank) tweeted on Mon, May 24, 2021:

Last week, we hosted a presentation on our newly-released report, "Gaps in Food Access in Massachusetts During COVID-19"

To learn about our findings, as well as programmatic and policy recommendations, check out the full presentation: https://t.co/UMi7IhJRrH

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gr8BosFoodBank/status/1396845461034647554

 

Direct video link -> https://youtu.be/WInSGSsJn5I

 

For more about the research and report visit the GBFB web page ->

https://www.gbfb.org/what-we-do/data-research/

 

"USDA extends universal free lunch through next school year"

Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) tweeted on Tue, Apr 20, 2021:

"As I think this is a time for good news, here's some from @USDANutrition this afternoon:  https://t.co/E5oBYj6KWG

"The United States Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it would extend universal free lunch through the 2021-2022 school year, in an effort to reach more of the estimated 12 million youths experiencing food insecurity.

In March, the USDA said these waivers, which made school meals more flexible to administer, would be extended only to Sept. 30, leaving schools and families uncertain about what next school year might look like."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/04/20/usda-extends-universal-free-lunch/

 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracyNovick/status/1384596200876281856

FM #484 - Dan Feerick for Project Envoy - 03/02/21 (audio)

FM #484 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 484 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Dan Feerick. Dan is part of the Franklin Interfaith Council - Food Security Team. We had our conversation via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

We talk about:   Project Envoy

• February was good, more restaurants added
• Calendar set for March
• Eat in, take out at the restaurant of the day (per calendar)
• This helps out the restaurants during the pandemic
• The restaurant in turn will contribute a portion of the sales to help out the Franklin Food Pantry
• A win, win, win for Franklin

The link to the Project Envoy page is included in the show notes. Our conversation runs about 16 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Dan Feerick.  Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/092329d4-2258-4922-b2d3-39aecb79a991

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Link to Project Envoy page = https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/project-envoy/

Link to March calendar = https://149356006.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/0001-1-300x232.jpg 

Hashtag your social post with  #ProjectEnvoy  #noonegoeshungryFranklin   

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
 
How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
 
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Project Envoy March calendar

Project Envoy's Jane Fulton talks about "eat in, take out, and help out" (audio)

FM #449 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 449 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Jane Fulton. She is part of the Franklin Interfaith Council - Food Security Team. We had our conversation via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

We talk about: 

• Project Envoy
• Calendar set for February, March, and April
• Eat in, take out at the restaurant of the day (per calendar)
• This helps out the restaurant during the pandemic
• The restaurant in turn will contribute a portion of the sales to help out the Franklin Food Pantry
• A win, win, win for Franklin

The link to the Project Envoy page is included in the show notes. Our conversation runs about 16 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jane Fulton. Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HXx1tMqS

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Link to Project Envoy page = https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/project-envoy/

Link to February calendar = https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Envoy-calendar-February.1.27.21.pdf 

Hashtag your social post with  #ProjectEnvoy  #noonegoeshungryFranklin  

-------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
 
How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
 
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ 

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Project Envoy's Jane Fulton talks about "eat in, take out, and help out" (audio)

Project Envoy: eat out/take out, help out

When times are tough, folks get together to help out. 

Many folks will recognize the Franklin Interfaith Council as the collective of our local houses of worship. Members representing many of the church communities formed a Food Security Team.

The question was: "How to help the Franklin Food Pantry and the local restaurants both of which are being challenged by this pandemic?"

Project Envoy was conceived.

Project Envoy will advertise participation for specials at the participating restaurants. Folks can eat out or take out. A portion of the meal will help the Franklin Food Pantry for a win-win. 

The Franklin Food Pantry will maintain a web page with the participating restaurants and  specials. 

Members of the newly formed Franklin Interfaith Food Security Team have contacted all locally owned restaurants and establishments in Franklin. 

At the moment, Project Envoy has 8 confirmed restaurants enrolled, there are conversations with others underway. 

Project Envoy is expected to formally launch on February 1. You don't need to wait until then. You can eat out/take out and help out now. 

The 8 confirmed restaurants are: Dacey's Market, Franklin Pizza and Deli, Santa Fe, Rome, Acapulco, Franklin Central Pizza; George's Pizza; and Intermission Cafe

The Food Security Team members represent: St. Mary’s Parish, St. John’s Episcopal, Temple Etz Chaim, the First Universalist Society in Franklin, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, and the Franklin Federated Church.

Project Envoy: eat out/take out, help out

Pantherbook: "The Franklin Food Pantry’s Food Elves Make Biggest Impact Yet to Fight Hunger"

From Pantherbook we share the following:  

"As COVID-19 cases continue to grow each day, so do the lines for food pantries across America. According to NPR, nearly 1 in 4 households have experienced food insecurity this year, which can be described as the lack of constant access to sufficient amounts of food needed to live a healthy life. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 10.5% of all American households (13.7 million) experienced food insecurity at some point in 2019. The image below displays the 4 main levels of food security and describes how households are affected at each level."

Continue reading the article
https://franklinpanthers.us/news/2021/01/06/the-franklin-food-pantrys-food-elves-make-biggest-impact-yet-to-fight-hunger/ 

the 4 main levels of food security and describes how households are affected at each level

"Food insecurity leaving an impact across MA"

Via Boston25 News

"Alison Caruso left her part-time job earlier in 2020 to care for her teenage son, who she said had become depressed after the death of a family member and spending months trying to learn from home. She relies on the food pantry in Franklin as well as food stamps to survive, she said.

The state has seen food insecurity rise significantly, according to a study by Feeding America.

Norfolk County was cited as the area with the highest child food insecure rate at 163%, which is also the country’s highest mark, according to Feeding America."

Continue reading online (video clip also available on page)

https://www.boston25news.com/news/food-insecurity-leaving-an-impact-across-ma/PUTT37R2SJBL5BQAP4MRG2ATHE/

 

 

screengrab of FFP Executive Director Lynn Calling

Franklin Food Pantry: Sharing the bounty of love and giving

Dear Pantry Friends,

During this season of Thanksgiving, hunger and food insecurity receive a lot of attention. Thanksgiving is, typically, a time when families and friends gather around a table and a bounty of food!  Unfortunately, that bounty of food is not a reality for everyone and this year many more people are facing a more difficult holiday season. Feeding America has just shared the most recent statistics  reminding us that there is still a lot of work for us to do to continue to decrease food insecurity in the Commonwealth.   

-    1 in 7 people (1 in 5 kids) in the Commonwealth is considered food insecure
-    During the pandemic, Massachusetts, has seen the greatest percentage increase of individuals experiencing food insecurity anywhere in the country - up 59%.
-    We have also seen the greatest increase in childhood food insecurity - up 102%.
-    Norfolk County has seen the largest percent change in child food insecurity - up 163%.
-   Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and food insecurity - 1 in 5 Black households, and nearly 1 in 3 Latino/a households is experiencing food insecurity.  For white households, the number is 1 in 8.   

The Franklin Food Pantry's mission is to alleviate food insecurity and compassionately empower our community through resources and collaboration.  We are doing this with your help.  Hunger does not stop after the holidays.  We can continue to provide food for our neighbors through your support - and there are a number of ways in which you can help:

  -  Donate. If you can make a monthly commitment, that helps us even more!
  -  Run or walk in this year's re-imagined Turkey Trot.
  -  Sponsor a Food Elf.
  -  Create a fundraising page.
  -  Become a Food Pantry Ambassador.
  -  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
  -  Share our newsletter.
  -  Continue to educate yourself about food insecurity.

Everyone can make a difference. Thank you for all that you have done for the Pantry.  From our hearts to yours, we wish you a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.  As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or would simply like to talk (or zoom!), my door is always open!

With Appreciation, 

Lynn Calling

Executive Director

lcalling@franklinfoodpantry.org

 

Franklin Food Pantry Turkey Trot 2020

 

This is the entry memo to the email update shared recently, for the full contents, please visit http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1114432653691&ca=ddfce886-234f-4e1c-b79e-74e5acdf068d