February 2018

Food for Thought MISSION Loaves & Fishes’ mission is to provide nutritious food, in an atmosphere of kindness and respect, to individuals in

need who reside in Ayer, Devens, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Hanlon, President Andrea Myette, Vice President Don Siegrist, Treasurer

James Breslauer, Clerk Lily Baddour, Mary Jo Boynton, Joseph Harrington, Scott Lewis, Aleta Manugian, Willie Wickman

STAFF Patricia Stern, Executive Director Sharon Cordero, Administrative Assistant Paul Niemira, Food Coordinator Theresa Wilson, Client Advocate Maureen Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator

John Cauley, Food Coordinator Assistant

OPEN PANTRY HOURS Wednesday and Friday

9:45AM-12:30PM (Doors open at 9:30AM)

First and third Saturdays of the month 9:00AM-11:00AM (Doors open at 8:45AM)

Second Tuesday of the month 6:00PM-8:00PM (Doors open at 5:45PM)

Closed when Ayer-Shirley Regional School District is closed or delayed due to inclement weather. Evenings and weekends call (978) 772-4627 for a recorded

message.

FOOD DONATION TIMES During all Open Pantry Hours Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7:00PM-8:00PM

LOCATION 234 Barnum Road, Devens, MA Mailing address: PO Box 1, Ayer, MA 01432 Telephone: 978.772.4627

Fax: 978.772.7395 Email: office@loavesfishespantry.org

www.loavesfishespantry.org

Take a look inside at all the “Faces of Hope” to see what we have accomplished

towards our mission of lifting and feeding our neighbors during the holiday season!

FACES OF HOPE Volume 26, Issue 1

Page 2

Page 2 REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!

YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!

2017 THANKSGIVING DINNER DISTRIBUTION

Senator Eldridge and his staff stopped by the pantry to volunteer during our Thanksgiving Dinner Distribution. Thank you, Senator, for your continued support towards our mission and fight

against local hunger.

286 families received all the fixings for their Thanksgiving meal.

Gerry greeted the clients with a smile!

Janet assisted with parking

and client registrations.

Andre, John, Larry and Jim hard at work

in the back pantry.

They braved the cold to help our clients load

their groceries into their cars.

Karen and Rosemary warmly

welcomed our neighbors.

“I just wanted to share my thanks and gratitude for everything that you have done to help feed my family, especially during this holiday season when things are very difficult

for us right now financially.”

-A CLIENT

Our Thanksgiving evening helpers.

Page 3

REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE Page 3

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!

YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!

2017 HOLIDAY DINNER DISTRIBUTION

233 families received all the fixings for their

holiday meal.

Cecile and Curt paused for a photo before the shopping began.

Joey was ready for the holidays and eager to assist the clients

with their shopping.

Karen helped keep the shelves stocked.

Rosemary was in charge of the delicious pies!

“You made this day so special for me. I have been going through hard times for some time now and it is just over-whelming to see all the generosity and

kindness.”

-A CLIENT

Larry assisted with the ham and turkey distribution.

Debbie was ready to give a helping hand!

“This was my first holiday meal at Loaves & Fishes and I did not know what to expect and wasn’t sure if I would go to get food, but I ended up going. It was a very pleasant experience and everyone was so nice and helpful. Thank you for making the holidays better for my

family.”

-A CLIENT

Page 4

Page 4 REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!

YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!

COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

The annual Shirley Scout Drive donated over 7,700 pounds of food to Loaves & Fishes!

Thank you to the town of Shirley, the organizers, all the Scouts and the volunteers

who made it all happen!

Thanks to the Harvard Police Department and their "Fill the Cruiser" event, they collected lots of toys for the

Shop For Your Kids event.

SHOP FOR YOUR KIDS EVENT 157 families were able to provide

337 children with gifts this holiday season.

SHOP FOR YOUR PARENTS EVENT 268 children registered for this

great event!

Thank you to our donors, community partners, supporters and volunteers

who made these events possible.

Thank you to the Ayer Police Department and Sgt. McDonald for their continued

annual support.

The Nashoba Valley Chorale's Annual Messiah Sing raised $1000 for Loaves & Fishes. Susan Hill sings a solo during the event. Thank you so

much for your support!

Shirley Arts Community Christmas Concert spread some holiday cheer and raised over $620 for Loaves & Fishes! Thank you to a very talented group of singers, dancers and instru-mentalists for their support!. Pictured with Loaves & Fishes Executive Director, Patty Stern (left), is Meredith Marcinkewicz, the concert’s Program Director. A Job well done to the cast

and crew of SHIRLEY ARTS!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Page 5

REAL PEOPLE • REAL FOOD •REAL HELP •REAL HOPE Page 5

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR DONORS, SUPPORTERS, PARTNERS & VOLUNTEERS!

YOU HAVE PROVIDED HOPE TO SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS!

COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

The Littleton Lions Pack 21 delivered over 78lbs. of food. Thank you for your support during this holiday season!

NEW FRIENDS OF THE PANTRY...Restoration Orchard, LLC of Harvard! They delivered 1,100 lbs. of apples to Loaves & Fishes during this holiday season! Just in time for all those delicious apple

recipes!

Great job to the TOWN OF GROTON Neighborhood Food Project. Thanks to their efforts in December, over 4,100 lbs. of food was collected from 33 neighborhoods representing over 400 donors!

Loaves & Fishes received a $5,000 donation from our good friends at the Porsche Club of American Northeast Region! Pictured with Loaves & Fishes Executive Director,

Patty Stern, are Chris Ryan and Jeff Johnson. Our most sincere thanks for your continued support!

A Message from the Executive Director…

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Staff and especially the clients at Loaves & Fishes, I would like to express our sincere thanks for the overwhelming support that we received from the community during the holiday season. The outpouring of food, financial support and volunteer time allowed us to help many families during the past few months. Thanks to your efforts, 286 families received all the fixings for their Thanksgiving celebration and another 233 received Christmas dinner. It took an army of volunteers and donors to make these wonderful events so successful. We are truly fortunate to live in an area which generously supports our

neighbors in need.

A grateful client stopped by my office during the holiday

dinner distribution with tears in her eyes, and told me —

“You have absolutely no idea how thankful I am for not only the nutritious food, but also the kindness that I receive every

time I visit the Pantry.”

Our sincere thanks to each and every one of you for your

continued support.

Patty Patricia A Stern Executive Director

Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Inc. P.O. Box 1 Ayer, MA 01432

Nonprofit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Ayer, MA 01432

Permit No. 4

Contact Us: Telephone: (978) 772-4627

Email: office@loavesfishespantry.org Website: https://loavesfishespantry.org

Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

AYER HARVARD

Ayer Post Office Harvard General Store

Nashoba Valley Medical Center Connections Physical Therapy

Main Street Bank Harvard Post Office

The Cottage Restaurant LITTLETON

The Markham Group Citizen’s Bank

DEVENS Donelan’s Supermarket

Main Street Bank Main Street Bank

The Natural Café Northern Bank & Trust

GROTON Littleton Police Department

YOUR BUSINESS could be here! Littleton Post Office

Groton Post Office Knox Realty

Groton Public Library Market Basket

Middlesex Bank SHIRLEY

Main Street Bank Shirley Post Office

Town Hall Hazen Library

Groton Senior Center Main Street Bank

Clover Farm General Store Phoenix Park, Building D

Shaw’s Supermarket YOUR BUSINESS could be here!

Donation boxes can also be found in many places of worship in Ayer, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Collection Box Locations

Most Needed Items:

Hamburger or Tuna Helpers Canned Chili, Refried Beans Baked Beans Ramen Canned Fruit Juice Boxed Flavored Rice Toothpaste Ketchup or Mayonnaise Shampoo/Conditioner Canned Pasta Dish Detergent Canned Tomato Paste/Sauce Diapers (size 5, 6 & Pull Ups) Grape or Strawberry Jelly Feminine Care Products Canned Corn Poise Pads Pancake Mix & Syrup

DO YOU NEED HELP WITH FOOD?

NO INCOME REQUIREMENTS!

CALL US: 978-772-4627, x312

EMAIL: clientadvocate@loavesfishespantry.org

5th Annual Fundraiser June 11, 2018 @ 1:00 p.m. Shaker Hills Country Club

SAVE

THE

DATE!