Making a Difference: Our Summer Food Drive for Open Table

by Twelve Points Team

The idea of “giving back” is foremost in our minds as temperatures lower, especially around holiday season, but what happens when summer comes around?

As you might imagine, things slow down; kids go to camp, families go on vacation and the shelves at local food banks start to empty out. That’s why we decided to hold a summer food drive to benefit Open Table, a local organization that provides community dinner programs and food pantries in Concord and Maynard.

“We depend on donations like this,” says Food Drive Coordinator Amy Newell. “On a weekly basis,  we put grocery bags full of food together for the people who come to our community dinners. If we don’t get food from food drives, we have to purchase it ourselves, usually from the Greater Boston Food Bank. We’d prefer to put that money towards other things, like providing social services for people in need. We really look to companies, schools, religious institutions, scouting groups and businesses to donate, especially when it comes to more expensive items, like cereal.”

As a firm, we decided to hold a breakfast-themed food drive and wanted to include our business neighbors in Damon Mill Square. Approximately 200 items, including things like pancake mix, jam, oatmeal, shelf-stable milk for kids and cereal, were donated by businesses in our building. “I was blown away,” exclaims Amy. “There was so much food it almost filled up my car. The table where we put weekly donations has been empty, so lately I’ve just been doing a lot of cleaning. It’s amazing what a difference one food drive can make.”

As fall begins, an increasing number of food drives hosted by schools, banks, and even families teaming up with their neighbors will bring donations into local food pantries. But at certain times of the year, the donations virtually stop. “It’s slow in February, March and April, in addition to over the summer,” Amy explains. Twelve Points has committed to continuing our work with Open Table by deciding to host another food drive in February. Director of Compliance Kim Van Winkle explains, “Our goal is to continue to engage our business neighbors in Damon Mill with the hopes of helping Open Table continue its great work.”

To learn more about how you can support Open Table’s mission to ensure people don’t go hungry by volunteering or making a donation, please visit their website.