LYNN — Following a large-scale Thanksgiving food drive at Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development on Saturday, nearly 1,000 Lynn families in need won’t have to struggle to put food on the table for the holiday.
LHAND served as one of United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley’s 16 distribution sites as part of the organization’s 19th annual Thanksgiving Project.
As part of the drive, more than 165,000 pounds of food were provided to 7,000 families facing economic hardship throughout Greater Boston, the South Shore, North Shore and Merrimack Valley last week.
Lynn served as one of the largest distribution sites, where families were provided with Thanksgiving grocery bags that contained meal staples such as onions, potatoes, canned corn, canned green beans, cornbread mix, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rice, an aluminum turkey pan and a gift card to purchase a turkey from Market Basket.
“By providing the meals for Thanksgiving, we hope to erase the stress of struggling for one week so they can enjoy their holidays,” said Brigid Boyd, a United Way spokeswoman.
Boyd said the drive started with one company anonymously donating food to distribute through United Way, which grew throughout the years. The organization relies solely on private donations and corporate partners to fund the meals.
Volunteers distributing the meals in Lynn included residents, LHAND staff and elected officials, according to Charles Gaeta, LHAND executive director. Families had to pre-register for meals.
“United Way has such a large presence in Lynn,” said Gaeta. “We’re happy to partner with them. There’s such a great need in the Lynn community for so many people that are living week by week. It certainly helped meet a small need in the community.”
Since the Thanksgiving project began, United Way volunteers and partners have provided more than 42,000 holiday meal packages to local families in need, according to the organization.
“Our focus is on helping the most people in need,” said Michael K. Durkin, United Way president and CEO in a statement. “Many families rely on these meals to help stretch their food budgets for one week.”
