Last week, as part of the lead up to Thanksgiving, we published a blog post about Food for Free, a nonprofit working to rescue wasted food and distribute it to the Emergency Food System. This week, we’re still in the same spirit, and we’ve decided to highlight another hunger relief organization, Community Servings. Community Servings works to bring food to those who are living with critical and chronic illnesses, as well as their dependents and caregivers. Not only are the volunteers and staff at Community Servings concerned with feeding their constituents, they are also concerned with making sure that each meal is nutritious and culturally appropriate.
All hunger relief organizations and workers work hard all year long to bring food to the hungry. But, as you can imagine, this time of year becomes especially busy. Thanksgiving and all of the winter holidays are notoriously the largest eating days of the year in the United States and beyond, and Community Servings wants everyone to join in with the holiday cheer, no matter what their resources are or aren’t. To ensure that this is possible, the organization prepares a delicious and thorough Thanksgiving menu, complete with all of the traditional Turkey Day fixings. Additionally, they prepare, sort and distribute holiday baskets throughout the month of December – including Christmas Eve.
On top of the massive amount of work that Community Servings does during the holiday season, they put on special events throughout the year. For example, their annual Mustachio Bashio, a mustache-themed gala, raised over $16,000 for their programs. They also run a Meals for Moms program around Mothers’ Day and a silent auction called Lifesavor. This November, they are running their Pie in the Sky program which has local businesses donating pies, which are then sold to friends and families to raise money for their meal delivery programs.
As you can see, there is no shortage of do-gooders within the Community Servings organization. These annual events, along with their regular meal delivery programs, require hundreds of volunteers, the support of local businesses and corporate sponsors, and an extremely dedicated staff. And all we’ve mentioned so far aren’t even half of the programs that this amazing nonprofit provides to the Greater Boston community.
Tis the season for being thankful and for giving. So, when you’re counting what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving, remember to include organizations like Community Servings. AND, if you have even a little bit of extra time around the holidays, they are always seeking volunteers to help make all of these wonderful things happen for those in need.