Editor’s note: Wellesley Middle School Social Studies students as part of a Civics Action Projects has this week taken over The Swellesley Report‘s letters-to-the-editor page. The students are well-versed in their topics, have carefully researched all angles, and are ready to present their opinions to the community. Thank you to the WMS Social Studies teachers for organizing this community-based project.
To the editor:
Hunger is a big problem that sadly affects many people. According to a Greater Boston Food Bank study, one-third of the Massachusetts population is food insecure. Luckily, there are many ways people can help.
In the Massachusetts House and Senate, Bill S.98 is in the midst of discussion. This bill establishes a Restaurant Meals Program as part of the SNAP program. The SNAP program stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps families struggling with food insecurity buy food at lower prices in grocery stores. With this bill, anyone who is part of SNAP can go to restaurants for lower prices and get higher quality food.
This bill is currently being discussed in the House and the Senate, and we hope that it is passed soon. Next, Bill S.44 is also in the process of being passed in the Massachusetts legislature. This bill proposes the establishment of community fridges in areas with high food insecurity, and also makes sure the food being given to community fridges is fresh and safe to eat. A community fridge is a working refrigerator in an accessible location to the public that any person or organization can donate to. If this bill were passed, many food insecure people would be able to access food more easily. Advocacy for these bills could immensely improve the nutritional situation for many families in our state. One way to advocate for the bill is to e-mail our State Senator and State Representative (Cynthia.Creem@masenate.gov and Alice.Peisch@mahouse.gov respectively) and encourage them to take action.
In addition, many food pantries also help with the problem of food insecurity. For example, the Wellesley Food Pantry supplies over 400 people with food to eat and basic items for their houses. They could always use more donations that include food or money to feed their clients with healthy, nourishing food. The Wellesley Food Pantry has bins outside of Roche Bros. and Whole Foods where people can donate items to be picked up and brought to the pantry. In addition, the Wellesley Food Pantry posts a wish list on their website containing items that would be especially helpful. Hosting food drives would be a great way to help them collect more items.
Furthermore, the Wellesley Food Pantry is hosting a food drive in partnership with the Post Office on May 11th. The idea is to leave food donations next to your mailbox or neighborhood mailbox. Then, volunteers will come to collect it and drop it off at the Wellesley Food Pantry. Donations from their wish list would be greatly appreciated.
Similarly, the churches of St. Paul and St. John have ongoing food drives. Donations to St. Paul go directly to the Wellesley Food Pantry while the donations to St. John go to the St. Katharine Drexel Food Pantry. Both of these churches have the Wellesley Food Pantry food requests on their bulletins. Additionally, these churches host a seasonal collection for the Bristol Lodge during Thanksgiving to provide Thanksgiving dinners. This is a very important cause, so next fall please make sure to donate to these churches to give people in need the opportunity to have Thanksgiving dinner.
In addition, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley has an Outreach Ministry that helps combat food insecurity among other causes. This Outreach Ministry funds both domestic and international organizations that help people struggling with hunger and homelessness. To propose an organization to donate to, you simply have to go on the St. Andrew’s website and submit a grant application. Anyone can submit an application to fund an organization that they think will benefit people around the country and the world. Questions can also be asked at outreach@standrewswellesley.
These churches are located in Wellesley and are open almost every day to donate. This would be a simple, easy way to help.
There is no need to wait to take action. Supporting state legislation and donating to food pantries and food drives can immensely help. Please consider taking action to ease food insecurity and to improve the quality of many people’s lives.
Ellie Rankin
Wellesley Middle School student
