New Year – looking back and forward

Dear community,

As one year closes and a new one begins, we take the time to reflect on what we were able to accomplish this year, with your support. There is a lot we could carry with us from 2020; the hardships, the immense pressure that we all faced, the increase of people in economically vulnerable circumstances leading to increased food insecurity, the inability to do things as we always have. Instead, when FCCMP looks back on this experience, we are humbled by the incredible success that was 2020. At FCCMP, we measure success through our mission statement: to work in partnership with the community to alleviate hunger. And that is exactly what we did this year, thanks to each of you showing up and playing your part.

2020 Accomplishments

We continued to operate throughout a global pandemic, not missing a single day at our pantry or at our meal sites.

• We transformed our 3 sit down meal sites into to-go distribution sites
• We converted the Orange Food Pantry into a drive thru site for the first 6 months of the pandemic, and now into a COVID-safe walk in facility

We rose to the occasion of increased food insecurity in our community.

• We provided more food, more staff, more volunteers and more community support to meet the increased need

We worked together as a community more than ever before, allowing us to design innovative and collaborative solutions to getting food to our community.

• We continued to work with hundreds of volunteers
• We cultivated new partnerships and deepened long-term partnerships
• We creatively converted annual events into online fundraisers and foodraisers

We built support systems in the community by creating a new, multi-pronged model for our GF meal site.

• Through a partnership with Brad’s Place, a local restaurant in Greenfield, volunteer groups, businesses and individuals were able to sponsor a night at our meal site. This not only fed our most vulnerable individuals but also supported a local business in need during this time.

In December, we launched our Annual Appeal Fundraiser and raised more than ever before. These funds will be essential as we move forward with continued resolve to find creative solutions to caring for the most vulnerable members of our community.

• 2019 Annual Appeal funds raised: $15,500 from 150 individuals
• 2020 Annual Appeal funds raised: $42,500 from 288 individuals

We are humbled and grateful for the deep learning that this year provided. We know that no matter what happens in this world, we are a part of a community that will come together when we need each other most. Hunger has never been more visible and as a result we are more visible. The community has seen us, seen what we are doing and joined us in the call to alleviate hunger. With more donors, community partners, business sponsors and grant opportunities than ever before, we were provided the support we needed to do what we do best- feed people. We want to thank you, sincerely, for the role you have played in keeping our organization alive and keeping the community fed this past year. We see each and every one of you as an integral part to what we do. Thank you for being a part of this community.

FCCMP 2020 Annual Statistics

• Distributed nearly 20,000 meals across all 3 meal sites
• Distributed 235,000 pounds of food at the Orange Food Pantry
• Served 1,800 individuals and nearly 700 households over the course of the year at the Orange Food Pantry
• Distributed 3-5 days worth of food from non-perishables to fresh meat, produce, dairy, bread and more to people in need over 10,549 times through our Orange Food Pantry

Moving Forward

As we lean into 2021, there are many things we have learned, goals we have set and needs we must continue to meet. We learned that with more people in line and more food coming in and going out, we need a larger facility to house our Orange Food Pantry and a refrigerated truck to transport this food across the county. We need to continue to collaborate in our programming to address the root causes of hunger. We need to continue to grow as an organization in order to more thoroughly ensure that we are able to take care of and even transform the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community. So we will plan, we will keep you informed, but most importantly, we will continue to do what we succeeded at in 2020. We will build community and work together in this space. We will be innovative and think from a systems based approach as we continue to face the challenges that lay ahead.

With gratitude from,

Rachel Berggren, the staff, the volunteers and our Board of Directors at Franklin County Community Meals Program