Mattapan non-profit answers call on food insecurity
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Urban Farming Institute deploys 650 turkey baskets for the holiday..
The spirit of Thanksgiving warmed a chilly breeze last Thursday morning (Nov. 20) as hundreds of people waited in a line that started in front of the yellow Clark- Epstein-Fowler Farm building and wrapped around the sidewalk along Norfolk Street in an ebb and flow throughout the day to pick up their fresh turkeys and boxes of trimmings – 650 distributions in all – courtesy of Mattapan’s non-profit Urban Farming Institute.
“We are having just a wonderful day being able to provide food and sustenance for our amazing community during these times of cuts and concerns with so many programs that people rely on in regard to both food security and health,” said Patricia Spence, president and CEO of UFI. “We have an amazing community, and we’re just trying to do our part. We’re all here so that people will stay healthy during these times.”
With recent reductions in SNAP benefits and rising food prices, people across the city are experiencing food insecurity. This year, as they have since 2020, UFI members made it their mission to ensure that as many residents of Mattapan, Roxbury, and Dorchester as they could serve would have what they needed for a holiday feast.
“It started during Covid with 100 turkeys in 2020,” Spence told The Reporter. “We planned to do 400 last year, and we did 475. We planned to do 500 this year, and we’re doing 650. We have had a wonderful distribution list, and we know organizations and people who know exactly where the need is in the community.”
She added: “Not only where the need is, but they also know the people who will be too proud to ask for help.”
So, instead of waiting for people to seek assistance, UFI compiled a list of those individuals and families and told them when and where to be to pick up the birds and the baskets.
The turkeys were purchased from Stonewood Farm in Orwell, Vermont. “They are, in fact, the best turkeys,” said Spence. “I always say this, just because you’re in need does not mean you can’t have the best.”
As the shipment of turkeys was en route, UFI staff assembled boxes of locally sourced produce like apples, onions, butternut squash, and sweet potato, as well as traditional trimmings like cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, and brownie mix. These were made possible by the Boston Food Hub with funds donated by The Boston Foundation, Takeda, and New England Community Project Inc.
Vickey Siggers, food access manager for the Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition, was one of the volunteers who arrived to pick up baskets for neighborhood families.
She referred to UFI as “a place where you can breathe,” and “a place where you can come and get a good hug,” something she got as soon as she saw Spence.
“As Covid has gone away and things have settled down,” said Siggers, “we really thought we had a moment to breathe, then the government shut down and they took away people’s SNAP and our ability to buy food. People understand we have to take care of each other.”
While UFI held its final farm stand of the season last Friday, the work to address food concerns continues. Spence and Sigger suggest residents in need of help look into the different resources at UFI and the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition.
“We’re going to do a smaller version of a winter farm stand for the first time,” said Spence. “We’ll bring food in and have other pantry items like eggs. On top of that, because of all the concerns recently, I said, ‘Let’s do a campaign for nonperishable items.’ We had a goal, and we had an anonymous donor. We already met our goal, and we already started delivering.”
Like the turkeys, the non-perishables are, according to Spence, “going to very specific places. We’re trying to do it particularly for people who don’t have access to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Every pantry doesn’t have Greater Boston Food Bank, so we are looking for the places locally.”
To get involved in next year’s annual holiday turkey drive or to learn more about the various resources and opportunities at UFI, visit urbanfarminginstitute.org.
See the full article here.
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