When you support Prevent Hunger, you help prevent food insecurity before it starts or stop it in its tracks.
You make it possible for Interfaith’s food shelf to meet our community’s growing demand in 2024 – by expanding hours, inventory, and home delivery capacity.
You also help fund programs and services that link neighbors to living-wage jobs, affordable housing and childcare, reliable transportation and more.
Because preventing hunger looks different for everyone.
This is because nearly 70% of our food shelf clients qualify as extremely low income.
These households earn less than 30% of the area’s median income – which, for Plymouth, equates to less than $35,943 a year or $2,995 a month.
They have an average of three people.
And once rent or mortgage is paid, there are only a few hundred dollars remaining, at most, to cover the costs of everyone’s additional expenses – from bills and transportation to clothing and activities.
For these clients, access to food that won’t strain an already-tight budget is critical.
Your support puts food on the table for the hundreds of new, current and returning food shelf clients who will come to our food shelf in 2024.
A participant for several years, Marilyn appreciates the variety of food she receives from the food shelf and being able to receive more costly household essentials like toilet paper and paper towels.
“The food shelf is very important to me, especially with the way grocery prices are soaring,” Marilyn declares. “It’s helped tremendously to receive IOCP’s regular delivery and to know I can get through the month financially.”
And Marilyn is not alone: Interfaith currently has 60 people in the Home Delivery program and 13 on the waitlist.
Your support allows our team to expand in staff and hours – and ensure everyone who needs home food delivery receives it.
The food shelf launched its SuperShelf model in 2021, which used the guidance of clients and other key stakeholders to inform a revamped layout. The result is similar to a grocery store, with a focus on fresh produce and more culturally specific foods.
“It’s like a family friend that you can (visit) whenever you feel like you needed something,” Luul says about the Interfaith food shelf. “I know I’m not going to get judged.”
Your support helps us directly respond to the Interfaith client community’s feedback – by fostering client integrity, continuing partnerships that provide healthy, diverse foods and so much more.