February 2018
Food for Thought MISSION Loaves & Fishes’ mission is to provide nutritious food, in an atmosphere of kindness and respect, to individuals in
need who reside in Ayer, Devens, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Hanlon, President Andrea Myette, Vice President Don Siegrist, Treasurer
James Breslauer, Clerk Lily Baddour, Mary Jo Boynton, Joseph Harrington, Scott Lewis, Aleta Manugian, Willie Wickman
STAFF Patricia Stern, Executive Director Sharon Cordero, Administrative Assistant Paul Niemira, Food Coordinator Theresa Wilson, Client Advocate Maureen Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator
John Cauley, Food Coordinator Assistant
OPEN PANTRY HOURS Wednesday and Friday
9:45AM-12:30PM (Doors open at 9:30AM)
First and third Saturdays of the month 9:00AM-11:00AM (Doors open at 8:45AM)
Second Tuesday of the month 6:00PM-8:00PM (Doors open at 5:45PM)
Closed when Ayer-Shirley Regional School District is closed or delayed due to inclement weather. Evenings and weekends call (978) 772-4627 for a recorded
message.
FOOD DONATION TIMES During all Open Pantry Hours Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7:00PM-8:00PM
LOCATION 234 Barnum Road, Devens, MA Mailing address: PO Box 1, Ayer, MA 01432 Telephone: 978.772.4627
Fax: 978.772.7395 Email: [email protected]
www.loavesfishespantry.org
Take a look inside at all the “Faces of Hope” to see what we have accomplished
towards our mission of lifting and feeding our neighbors during the holiday season!
FACES OF HOPE Volume 26, Issue 1
Page 2
Page 2 REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE
THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!
YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!
2017 THANKSGIVING DINNER DISTRIBUTION
Senator Eldridge and his staff stopped by the pantry to volunteer during our Thanksgiving Dinner Distribution. Thank you, Senator, for your continued support towards our mission and fight
against local hunger.
286 families received all the fixings for their Thanksgiving meal.
Gerry greeted the clients with a smile!
Janet assisted with parking
and client registrations.
Andre, John, Larry and Jim hard at work
in the back pantry.
They braved the cold to help our clients load
their groceries into their cars.
Karen and Rosemary warmly
welcomed our neighbors.
“I just wanted to share my thanks and gratitude for everything that you have done to help feed my family, especially during this holiday season when things are very difficult
for us right now financially.”
-A CLIENT
Our Thanksgiving evening helpers.
Page 3
REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE Page 3
THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!
YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!
2017 HOLIDAY DINNER DISTRIBUTION
233 families received all the fixings for their
holiday meal.
Cecile and Curt paused for a photo before the shopping began.
Joey was ready for the holidays and eager to assist the clients
with their shopping.
Karen helped keep the shelves stocked.
Rosemary was in charge of the delicious pies!
“You made this day so special for me. I have been going through hard times for some time now and it is just over-whelming to see all the generosity and
kindness.”
-A CLIENT
Larry assisted with the ham and turkey distribution.
Debbie was ready to give a helping hand!
“This was my first holiday meal at Loaves & Fishes and I did not know what to expect and wasn’t sure if I would go to get food, but I ended up going. It was a very pleasant experience and everyone was so nice and helpful. Thank you for making the holidays better for my
family.”
-A CLIENT
Page 4
Page 4 REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE
THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!
YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!
COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
The annual Shirley Scout Drive donated over 7,700 pounds of food to Loaves & Fishes!
Thank you to the town of Shirley, the organizers, all the Scouts and the volunteers
who made it all happen!
Thanks to the Harvard Police Department and their "Fill the Cruiser" event, they collected lots of toys for the
Shop For Your Kids event.
SHOP FOR YOUR KIDS EVENT 157 families were able to provide
337 children with gifts this holiday season.
SHOP FOR YOUR PARENTS EVENT 268 children registered for this
great event!
Thank you to our donors, community partners, supporters and volunteers
who made these events possible.
Thank you to the Ayer Police Department and Sgt. McDonald for their continued
annual support.
The Nashoba Valley Chorale's Annual Messiah Sing raised $1000 for Loaves & Fishes. Susan Hill sings a solo during the event. Thank you so
much for your support!
Shirley Arts Community Christmas Concert spread some holiday cheer and raised over $620 for Loaves & Fishes! Thank you to a very talented group of singers, dancers and instru-mentalists for their support!. Pictured with Loaves & Fishes Executive Director, Patty Stern (left), is Meredith Marcinkewicz, the concert’s Program Director. A Job well done to the cast
and crew of SHIRLEY ARTS!
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Page 5
REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE Page 5
THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!
YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!
COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
The Littleton Lions Pack 21 delivered over 78lbs. of food. Thank you for your support during this holiday season!
NEW FRIENDS OF THE PANTRY...Restoration Orchard, LLC of Harvard! They delivered 1,100 lbs. of apples to Loaves & Fishes during this holiday season! Just in time for all those delicious apple
recipes!
Great job to the TOWN OF GROTON Neighborhood Food Project. Thanks to their efforts in December, over 4,100 lbs. of food was collected from 33 neighborhoods representing over 400 donors!
Loaves & Fishes received a $5,000 donation from our good friends at the Porsche Club of American Northeast Region! Pictured with Loaves & Fishes Executive Director,
Patty Stern, are Chris Ryan and Jeff Johnson. Our most sincere thanks for your continued support!
A Message from the Executive Director…
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Staff and especially the clients at Loaves & Fishes, I would like to express our sincere thanks for the overwhelming support that we received from the community during the holiday season. The outpouring of food, financial support and volunteer time allowed us to help many families during the past few months. Thanks to your efforts, 286 families received all the fixings for their Thanksgiving celebration and another 233 received Christmas dinner. It took an army of volunteers and donors to make these wonderful events so successful. We are truly fortunate to live in an area which generously supports our
neighbors in need.
A grateful client stopped by my office during the holiday
dinner distribution with tears in her eyes, and told me —
“You have absolutely no idea how thankful I am for not only the nutritious food, but also the kindness that I receive every
time I visit the Pantry.”
Our sincere thanks to each and every one of you for your
continued support.
Patty Patricia A Stern Executive Director
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Inc. P.O. Box 1 Ayer, MA 01432
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Ayer, MA 01432
Permit No. 4
Contact Us: Telephone: (978) 772-4627
Email: [email protected] Website: https://loavesfishespantry.org
Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
AYER HARVARD
Ayer Post Office Harvard General Store
Nashoba Valley Medical Center Connections Physical Therapy
Main Street Bank Harvard Post Office
The Cottage Restaurant LITTLETON
The Markham Group Citizen’s Bank
DEVENS Donelan’s Supermarket
Main Street Bank Main Street Bank
The Natural Café Northern Bank & Trust
GROTON Littleton Police Department
YOUR BUSINESS could be here! Littleton Post Office
Groton Post Office Knox Realty
Groton Public Library Market Basket
Middlesex Bank SHIRLEY
Main Street Bank Shirley Post Office
Town Hall Hazen Library
Groton Senior Center Main Street Bank
Clover Farm General Store Phoenix Park, Building D
Shaw’s Supermarket YOUR BUSINESS could be here!
Donation boxes can also be found in many places of worship in Ayer, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Collection Box Locations
Most Needed Items:
Hamburger or Tuna Helpers Canned Chili, Refried Beans Baked Beans Ramen Canned Fruit Juice Boxed Flavored Rice Toothpaste Ketchup or Mayonnaise Shampoo/Conditioner Canned Pasta Dish Detergent Canned Tomato Paste/Sauce Diapers (size 5, 6 & Pull Ups) Grape or Strawberry Jelly Feminine Care Products Canned Corn Poise Pads Pancake Mix & Syrup
DO YOU NEED HELP WITH FOOD?
NO INCOME REQUIREMENTS!
CALL US: 978-772-4627, x312
EMAIL: [email protected]
5th Annual Fundraiser June 11, 2018 @ 1:00 p.m. Shaker Hills Country Club
SAVE
THE
DATE!