LYNN — Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development and the United Way distributed almost 1000 bags of Thanksgiving dinner staples on Saturday to help local families experiencing food insecurity celebrate the holiday.
Volunteers from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) as well as elected officials including state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), state Rep. Peter Capano (D-Lynn), state Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus), Mayor-elect Jared Nicholson and several city councilors, helped distribute Thanksgiving meal kits on Saturday in Lynn as part of the United Way’s annual Thanksgiving Project. The bags included onions, potatoes, canned corn, canned green beans, black beans, cornbread mix, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy and rice. Families also received a $15 gift card to Market Basket to purchase a turkey (or any other items of their choice) and an aluminum turkey-roasting pan.
“(We are) so fortunate to have United Way, an active presence in our community, and the dedicated staff from LHAND providing support along with our newly-elected mayor,” said LHAND Executive Director Charles J. Gaeta.
LHAND participated in the Thanksgiving Project for the 13th time this year. The event was geared toward Lynn families of three or more who pre-registered with LHAND in advance, said Michelle D’Amico, a licensed certified social worker and service division program portfolio manager.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year,” said D’Amico. “It is a wonderful way to share with others. Especially post-pandemic, we’ve seen huge, increasing need and it was wonderful to be able to assist some families with something immediate, something everybody can have to be thankful for.”
Only about 33 bags were left on Saturday after the event, said Christi Staples, vice president of the United Way’s statewide campaign to end homelessness.
“We know that food insecurity and homelessness are oftentimes linked,” Staples added. This is one day of a large response to the need that we have to make sure to keep an eye on,”
The United Way’s team worked hard for months to execute an operation of this scale, Staples said.
Lynn was one of the 30 locations throughout Greater Boston, the South Shore, North Shore and Merrimack Valley where the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, a nonprofit organization helping people in need, brought its annual Thanksgiving Project on Nov. 20. This year, the organization prepared 18,000 Thanksgiving bags, using 200,000 pounds of food.
“As food costs continue to rise and the demand for assistance remains high, local corporations and volunteers continue to step forward to donate food, funding, and their own time to help feed more families and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this holiday meal with their loved ones,” said Bob Giannino, president and CEO of the United Way. “Donations to support United Way’s Thanksgiving Project not only provide the fixings for a holiday meal, but also help families stretch their food budgets for an entire week.”
The United Way has been doing its Thanksgiving Day Food Drive for 22 years. This year, the United Way added 3,000 more meals to meet the surge in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased food insecurity.
The Thanksgiving bags were packed during the previous week by hundreds of volunteers at the Hynes Convention Center and then delivered to such partner organizations as Catholic Charities of Boston, the Greater Boston YMCA, Interfaith Social Services, LHAND, the Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative and others.
The Thanksgiving Project was sponsored by Bank of America, Amazon, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, Wegmans, UPS, JP Morgan Chase, Vertex, Boston Consulting Group, Bristol County Savings Bank, Mass General Brigham, Lee Kennedy, Putnam and Rockport Mortgage and others.
