I recently went to another great event hosted by Food for Free– this time at the Aeronaut brewery in SomerNova in Somerville.
In addition to enjoying some of the literal tons of rescued food from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, I also got to enjoy some really creative beverages and check in with my new friends at Carolicious (who I had originally met at the Welcome Project event a few weeks ago) and Somerville Chocolate.
During the course of the night, I had time to get to know many of the amazing team members at FfF and also to find out more about their programs.
As I am also a teacher, I was especially intrigued by the Carrot Cards program and the School Markets program.
Carrot Cards are like credit cards for students in Cambridge (and I hope elsewhere soon!) that allow them to pick up food to take home to their families on the weekends.
The School Markets program sets up monthly farmers markets outside of area schools that feature free and fresh rescued food that can be enjoyed not only by students and their families but by anyone in the community who may be in need- even during the summer!
In addition to being literally life-saving, the markets are also convenient and do not involve the stigma that food pantries and other venues can.
As the economy gets harder to handle for many these days (especially our immigrant neighbors who also seek help from The Welcome Project), more people need more help. That is why I am urging all of our fans to go to https://foodforfree.org/donate/ so they can be part of the solution.
Keep listening for more news about great organizations like Food for Free and be sure to do what you can to help in the meantime.