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Bread of Life perseveres with its mission in spite of challenges

March 26, 2020 annedr 2

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 […]

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Bread of Life nearly halfway funded to reconstruct Eastern Ave. headquarters

April 2, 2019 ditikohli 2

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 And a lot of those [past] facilities, almost all of them, have had really outdated equipment and kitchens.”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 […]