Food insecurity has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are many ways that community members can help, with donations of time, funds, and goods. Here is information on the situation of food insecurity in Malden and resources, as well as opportunities to give. […]
By Anne D’Urso-Rose The line snaked in fits and starts along a path outside the First Baptist Church of Malden. Those waiting for their free meals from Bread of Life were practicing social distancing with unequal measurements of separation. “I’ve been coming for many years,” said Govan, a Bread of Life meal patron, as he waited in good spirits. “These people are wonderful. We’d all be lost without them.” Life is challenging for Malden residents these days but for those with the least amount of resources, the situation has hit harder. To address the need, dedicated staff and volunteers on the front lines continue to serve the city’s most vulnerable residents with commitment and resourcefulness. “Since last week, the numbers seemed to be going up,” said John Robillard, the Meals Program Assistant for Bread of Life. “Today (Tuesday) we have 75 meals, where normally we make about 50.” “People have to eat,” said Gabriella Snyder Stelmack, Executive Director of the Bread of Life, in a recent interview with Neighborhood View. “We’ve had to make changes […]
Story by Diti Kohli Bread of Life Malden, an organization dedicated to preventing food insecurity, effectively raised $1.4 million, or nearly 50 percent, of the required funding to reconstruct its headquarters at 54 Eastern Ave. as of March 19. Some basic services, including a food pantry, are already run out of the acquired building. Executive director Gabriella Snyder Stelmack and development director Patty Kelly informed the City Council of the organization’s progress and mission at the March 19 council meeting. The $2.9 million funding estimate for reconstruction includes the remaining loan payment on the Eastern Avenue building. The 501c3 non-profit bought the property for $750,000 in 2014 using monies from philanthropy efforts. Bread of Life’s actions to open its own headquarters follow a long history of occupying temporary meal sites. “We lost our meal site several times,” said Stelmack resignedly. “Different times we’ve been serving out of our van or truck in a parking lot. And a lot of those [past] facilities, almost all of them, have had really outdated equipment and kitchens.” A projected […]
Pine Banks Park Sunday October 3, 2015 was the scene of the 23rd Bread of Life (BOL) 5K run and walk to raise money to help BOL fulfill their mission to feed the hungry, homeless and isolated people in the local communities. There were approximately 35 runners and more than 140 walkers including a few dogs. The men’s winner was James De Luca of Malden crossing the line at a time of 18 minutes 20 seconds and the women’s winner was Liz Emerald of Melrose crossing at 23 minutes 42 seconds. Neighborhood View was informed that both Liz Emerald and Mayor Gary Christenson had participated in an earlier 5K run the same day. This may account for Mayor Christenson’s comment as he crossed the finish line, “There has to be an easier way to raise money.” Free BoL T-shirts were handed out to each registered participant along with plenty of water. Also provided were sufficient quantities of healthy snacks, fresh fruit, juice and lots and lots of pizza. BOL provided over 1,030,000 meals last year […]
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