LEADING MASSACHUSETTS TO PERMANENTLY SOLVE HUNGER
Thanks to your support, Project Bread meets people where they are - providing immediate food relief to families across Massachusetts while building a better system through policy and advocacy. From making sure all of our kids have free, healthy, and delicious meals at school, to supporting patients in meeting their own nutrition needs for improved health, to making it easier for people to access and use federal nutrition resources, we are changing lives together.
It may surprise you that, in the midst of these challenging times, I am more optimistic than ever that we will solve hunger. We are in a moment of hope and opportunity.
In September, I attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, alongside business leaders, members of Congress, healthcare institutions, educators, nonprofit leaders, and more.
President Biden gave all of the 1,000 attendees a clear directive. “Be bold.”
Project Bread is leading on solutions that have been lifted up as national models, as examples of how to not only alleviate hunger, but prevent it.
Thanks to your support, and in collaboration with our elected officials, nonprofit colleagues, community leaders, state agencies, and dedicated advocates, we have made incredible strides towards achieving our shared goal.
While the challenges ahead are not easily solved, I am confident that the opportunity is greater than ever. There is a renewed commitment to permanently solving hunger and Massachusetts is leading the way.
Lack of awareness, misinformation, language inaccessibility, stigma, and application difficulties are barriers to our nation’s most successful nutrition supports — SNAP (food stamps) and free meals for kids. Together we are breaking down these barriers.
Because of you, knowledge of food resources increased while compassion and dignity defined the process. In 2022, Project Bread led one of the largest and most comprehensive campaigns in the nation to increase awareness of nutrition resources.
Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance received 25% more SNAP applications when our campaign was live. That’s 6,684 more people applying for SNAP monthly, on average, to get help paying for food; because of you!
to get help paying for food with SNAP
.
people assisted over the phone by our counselors
people assisted online by our counselors
people accessed information online through our new, award-winning automated chat assistant
She told me that the reason she preferred not to call was because she didn’t want her kids to overhear that the family is struggling. She is working full time, but her income can barely cover all of their expenses, especially with rising food costs. I was able to check if she was eligible and talk her through applying for SNAP.
Thank you for continuing to expand our solutions to meet people where they are so they have dignified ways to ask for and receive help.
Leah Schenkal, Manager of SNAP Outreach at Project Bread
One in every five households with children in Massachusetts cannot afford enough food to stay healthy. Black and Latino/a families are disproportionately impacted. Together we are solving child hunger, starting with what happens in our schools: free meals for all, continued access to meals over summer break, and better quality meals.
During the 2022-23 school year, every student can eat meals at school at no cost to their families. This would not have happened without you.
Your support made school meals – a critical source of nutrition for hundreds of thousands of children – free for all students. This means more kids get to eat, the burden of school meal debt is eliminated, and when students from households of every income level eat together, there is no stigma attached to free meals.
School meals establish lifelong healthy eating habits that can reduce the cases and severity of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, along with the cost associated with these diseases. By making meals available to all children, you protected the health of an entire generation this school year.
Helping students learn and be active in the short term, and thrive academically, physically, and emotionally in the long term.
Everybody eats, and it’s better when we do it together! The benefits of School Meals for All go beyond the food — supporting our children’s health and that of the entire school community.
Reduced Stigma
Improved Students’ Attitudes & Readiness for Learning
Fewer Visits to the School Nurse
Saved Families an Average of $1,200 to Put Towards Other Expenses
“There is an equal playing field for all students to succeed at school because they are equally nourished.”
Jill Henesey, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Old Rochester Regional School, Mattapoisett, MA
We recognize that change starts with policy, but doesn’t end there. In 2020, Project Bread was instrumental in the successful passage of An Act Regarding Breakfast After the Bell, requiring all MA public schools where at least 60% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals to offer all students breakfast after the beginning of the instructional day.
Your generous support meant 174 school districts received expert guidance and assistance to successfully increase school breakfast participation, through one-on-one support, peer-to-peer connections, promotional materials, and even grant funding, You have provided an essential support to schools during this transition.
In Pioneer Valley, Bernardston and Northfield elementary schools made breakfast part of the school day with your help. The number of kids benefiting from healthy school food jumped from just 17 to 234 students after implementing Breakfast After the Bell and providing free meals to all students. That is a 1,276% increase!
School meals got a boost from new recipes developed by Project Bread. Nutrition staff across the state attended Project Bread’s School Food Fellowship where they earned professional development credits. At the end of the program, meals served to students were nutritious and delicious - not to mention kid-approved!
“I love seeing how the shawarma spice blend I created — with Lebanese flavors I grew up with — is making kids want to eat more vegetables and healthy food here in Salem, and in Chicopee too! Project Bread’s School Food Fellowship program helps me think about preparing and seasoning school meals so that the kids love it even more.””
Ghada Fniech, Head Cook at The Horace Mann Laboratory School in Salem, MA. Participant in Project Bread’s School Food Fellowship
You made sure that kids all over Massachusetts had access to free and fun meals over summer break.
You made it easier than ever for caregivers to find nearby locations providing food for kids and teens — by making it possible for Project Bread to create new materials, increase promotion, make information available in nine languages, and launch a new and improved meal finder map.
With the help of a fresh new look for Summer Eats, kids ate 2,323,637 free meals in July, served at 1,495 locations. And everyone had so much fun while doing so!
“A new Summer Eats site opened up at the park within walking distance to my family! My kids have been walking down most days and it’s been such a relief knowing that my children are provided with both breakfast and lunch on the weekdays. It’s been one less financial stressor for me during the summer months.”
Thank you, A North Attleboro mom
It is impossible to be fully healthy without enough to eat. Project Bread is treating food insecurity through the healthcare system to improve long-term patient health outcomes. People with chronic medical conditions receive one-on-one support from our counselors to overcome nutrition barriers to good health. Our innovative case management model addresses multiple barriers to food security. Inadequate nutrition no longer jeopardizes people’s opportunity to heal.
In 2022, Project Bread demonstrated what we and supporters like you have known all along: preventing hunger improves health. 3,799 eligible MassHealth patients received Project Bread’s comprehensive case management, allowing them to feel better and live healthier — a 161% increase from the number of patients served last year!
Project Bread’s impact goes beyond helping individual patients. We are systematically integrating anti-hunger solutions into one of our nation’s largest systems: healthcare. Together, with our partners, we are opening a huge and untapped access point to reach people struggling without enough to eat. It is common sense that solving food insecurity improves health. Now, with your support, we are proving it is possible to scale this impact to improve community health and eventually reduce healthcare costs in Massachusetts.
At The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September, Massachusetts emerged as a national leader fighting systemically to end the injustice of hunger. The impact from our innovative work in healthcare, alongside critical partners, stands to transform the way we address food insecurity in the United States forever.
“My health improved and my doctors reduced my insulin doses! I‘ve learned so much about how to manage my diabetes. I’m eating more fruits and vegetables, and learning tricks like adding fruits to the water to replace juices and soda.”
Project Bread client and MassHealth participant
In 2022, Project Bread demonstrated what we and supporters like you have known all along: preventing hunger improves health. 3,799 eligible MassHealth patients received Project Bread’s comprehensive case management, allowing them to feel better and live healthier — a 161% increase from the number of patients served last year!
gave people purchasing power to shop for healthy food.
made it possible for patients to properly store groceries and prepare nutritious meals at home.
and learned how to apply it through nutrition-focused cooking classes
Project Bread’s impact goes beyond helping individual patients. We are systematically integrating anti-hunger solutions into one of our nation’s largest systems: healthcare. Together, with our partners, we are opening a huge and untapped access point to reach people struggling without enough to eat. It is common sense that solving food insecurity improves health. Now, with your support, we are proving it is possible to scale this impact to improve community health and eventually reduce healthcare costs in Massachusetts.
At The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September, Massachusetts emerged as a national leader fighting systemically to end the injustice of hunger. The impact from our innovative work in healthcare, alongside critical partners, stands to transform the way we address food insecurity in the United States forever.
Project Bread believes in the importance of centering people, not food, in solutions. Because of this, growing the staff of our Healthcare Partnerships program directly correlates to more people being food secure.
In June 2022 we released a report, Food Security is Health Care, evaluting the impact of our innovative work to address food insecurity through the healthcare system.
Together we are changing the system. Solving hunger for good is going to take big, bold solutions. We need policies and programs that work for the people they are intended to support. We need legislators to act on commitments to ending hunger. We need to change the system. And together, we are.
As plans were underway for the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in more than 50 years, our Congresspeople and Senators jumped into action to understand the challenges that make keeping food on the table seem impossible, what it means to be food insecure in Massachusetts, and what changes are needed, to inform the event and the White House plan to end hunger by 2030.
Because of you, Massachusetts emerged a leader. And the right voices were brought to the table.
In Preparation for the Historic Conference, Your Support Enabled Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley to Hear the First-Hand Experiences of People Closest to the Issue.
Our CEO, Erin McAleer, was proud to represent Project Bread’s strategy and impact at the White House conference. Massachusetts had one of the largest delegations, with several of our partners and anti-hunger champions in attendance – including numerous food banks, State Senators DiDomenico and Comerford, State Representatives Vargas, Kane, and Domb, and Congressman Jim McGovern.
Thank you to Massachusetts’ own Congressman Jim McGovern, whose years of advocacy was a big part of making this conference happen!
Project Bread’s work on long-term solutions to food insecurity has yielded immense benefits throughout Massachusetts. In July, we outlined numerous recommendations to The White House, many of which were incorporated into the National Strategy, including:
Through your support, Project Bread is now leading the statewide coalition of anti-hunger, healthcare, and food systems partners to develop, advocate, and implement a Massachusetts-specific roadmap to end hunger by 2030.
Because of your advocacy — your flood of calls, emails, and tweets — legislators heard you! Because of you, all kids have free school meals this school year, SNAP and MassHealth are moving to a common application, low-income households can buy more fresh produce, and college campuses are making it easier for students to get food assistance.
by 2,537 People to Our State Legislature
In 2022, hundreds of you participated in 4 Awareness Weeks: 2 for SNAP, 1 for Summer Eats, and 1 for Free School Meals for All. SNAP Awareness Week in January alone generated 33,000 impressions across our social media channels— helping promote and destigmatize this vital anti-hunger program. This single week generated 32% more impressions than our monthly average - proving working together to promote these critical resources is highly effective - and key!
Hosted virtually for the third year due to public health concern over COVID, we were energized by the fact that 42% of participants joined The Walk for their first time!
Get Involved36 Anti-Hunger Partners Formed Teams & Raised Money Through The Walk for Hunger.
In total they raised $206,000 — 60% of which was granted to their team’s organizations, totaling $123,600 to support their community-based anti-hunger initiatives!
Project Bread believes that collaboration is essential for lasting change. Building a Massachusetts where hunger no longer exists is only possible when solutions are based on diverse experiences and expertise. The values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice must be integrated into all aspects of our work.
In 2022, we launched our Community of Practice to create a space for meaningful connections between passionate people from diverse communities across the state. Together, this group of leaders empowers equitable, systemic solutions that serve the specific needs of their communities. The experiences and expertise of individual community members accumulate exponentially for a cumulative impact that accelerates Massachusetts’ progress toward our shared goal of solving hunger.
You are helping to create pathways to change by supporting the work to create spaces for community conversations and engagement around food access through a brand new grant initiative. Through our equitable and inclusive multilingual grant process, 22 organizations applied to this program. 70% percent of applicants were new organizations to Project Bread, which yielded 55% of awardees being new partners to Project Bread. Projects with lenses of diversity, inclusiveness, and equity, were highly encouraged, and as a result, 88% percent of awarded organizations are minority-led.
granted to 9 organizations to create Pathways to Change
were from minority-led organizations
were new partners to Project Bread
Your generosity in Project Bread’s fiscal year 2022 (10/1/21–9/31/22) is the reason people in Massachusetts living with the worry of having enough to eat had a constant source of support. The empathy and dedication you bring to our shared fight against hunger pushes us even harder to lead on policy solutions that will enable us to emerge from the tragedy of the pandemic with more equitable systems.
For all that you do for others, thank you.
Corporate & Foundations
Channel 7 Foundation Inc.
Frieze Family Foundation
Liberty Mutual Foundation, Inc.
Lovett-Woodsum Family Fund
Share Our Strength
The Klarman Family Foundation
The Yawkey Foundation
American Heart Association
Bay State Milling Company
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Shipley Family Foundation
The 1434 Foundation
The Baupost Group, LLC
Bain Capital Children’s Charity Ltd.
Hershey Family Foundation
Odysseys Unlimited
Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation
State Street Foundation, Inc.
The Gilson Family Foundation
Brookline Bank
Digital Federal Credit Union
Douglas Wine & Spirits
Hanover Insurance Group
Highland Street Foundation
Lawrence J. and Anne Rubenstein
Charitable Foundation
Linde Family Foundation
Mabel A. Horne Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
Saturday’s and Sunday’s Bread
The TJX Foundation, Inc.
The Vertex Foundation
Wines & More, Manfield
Wines & More, Walpole
Wines & More, Wareham
Wistia
98.5 The Sports Hub
105.7 WROR
Channel 7 News
Country 102.5
HOT96.9
ROCK 92.9
WilmerHale
Individuals
Barbara and Amos Hostetter
Jerry and Margaretta Hausman
Mooney-Reed Charitable Foundation
Brent and Rachel Dibner
Christopher McGrath
Estate of Leo Joseph Robillard
Roger and Hannelore Reiser
John and Caroline Langan
The Paula’s Gift Fund
The William and Lia G. Poorvu Family Foundation
Adam Levin
Arthur Lewbel
Barbara and Edward Wilson
Dr. Akshay Vaishnaw and Alison Vaishnaw
Dr. David Roth and Dr. Marie Demay
Dr. Eric Rimm and Allison Rimm
James Fitzgerald
John C. and Eunice B. Morrison Charitable Foundation
Joyce Lafaver
KBK Foundation
Lawrence and Beth Greenberg
Maxine Myers Foundation
McKay Family Charity Fund
Peter and Enid Levangie
Robert Wolff and Caroline Lindeke
Russell Colgate Fund
Steven Kirincich and Susan Mahan
The High Pointe Foundation
Theodore W. & Evelyn G. Berenson Charitable Foundation
Board of Directors
Peter Levangie
Chairperson
President & CEO, Bay State Milling Company
Irene Li
Vice Chair
Founder & Owner, Mei Mei Dumplings
Michael RichardsL
Chief Administrativ Officer
State Street
Kathryn Audette
Clerk
Director of State Government Relations, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Awab Ali Ibrahim, M.D.
Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow, Mass General Hospital
Mari Barrera
Charitable Foundations Manager, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
Jean McMurray
Executive Director, Worcester County Food Bank
Nikko Mendoza
State Director, Senator Elizabeth Warren, United States Senate
Stacie O’Brien
Senior Manager of Private Investment Operations, Baupost Group
Winton Picoff
Director, MA Food System Collaborative
Eric B. Rimm, Sc.D.
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Laura Schneider
Partner, WilmerHale
Ray Xi
Vice President, Double Impact, Bain Capital
Advisory Council
Anthony Ackil
Founder & CEO
Streetlight Ventures
Saadia Ali
Student & Top Fundraiser
The Walk for Hunger
Christopher Duggan
Director
Center for Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School
Becky Epstein
Chair of Corporate Charity
Odysseys Unlimited
Gary Evee
Founder & CEO
Evee Consulting Group
Theresa Fortillus
Program Director
New England Institute of Nonprofit Practice
Graham Gardner
Co-founder & CEO
Kyruss
Hannah Grove
Fortune 500 C-Suite Executive
Alethea Harney
Deputy Associate Administrator, Public Affairs
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Sonya Khan
Director of Clinical Services
Lowell Community Health Center
Meg Meaney
Vice President of Revenue Operations
Acoustic
Maggie Moore
Advisor
SimpliFed
Clarre Reilly
Co-founder
Women SOAR Giving Circle
Meaghan Switzer
Assurance Senior Manager
RSM US LLP
Healther Trafton
CEO & President
Mass Advantage
Adrienne Zak Hunt
Sustainability Disclosures and Engagement Lead
MassMutual
While the challenges on the horizon are many, we look ahead with hope, optimism, and determination. The bold solutions we’re leading on are already driving lasting change. The impact we have will accelerate and expand in this unique moment in time. Our greatest opportunity to permanently solve hunger in the Commonwealth is right now — and, we will do it together.
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