November 2, 2026 newsletter

 

Good morning everyone! Have you finished off your Halloween candy yet? You know...the candy you ostensibly bought for the neighborhood kids? Our house has a looooong driveway that the kids won't come up, so Mike and I have the tradition of passing out our candy with our neighbors (thank you Dorothy and Jeff!). The upside is that we get to leave all of our candy with them afterwards. The downside is that we leave all of our candy with them afterwards!

We got some good news from Project Bread's special initiative called "Make Hunger History" this week regarding Massachusetts's Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) funding:

"The Senate Ways & Means Supplemental Budget was just released and includes additional funding for DTA caseworkers at the SAME LEVEL as the House version: $28M over baseline for a total of $176.6M! Again, this additional funding will allow the agency to bring on a significant number of new SNAP DTA caseworkers and ensure that people get the help they need when they call DTA!"

This is excellent news, as many people have reported that when they try to call the DTA for assistance with food or anything else, no one answers the phone. The next steps in this legislation are the MA Senate vote, reconciliation with the MA House bill (which should be no problem since the levels are the same), and onto the Governor's desk to be signed. Call your State Senator if you will, and urge them to prioritize getting this done, and thank you.

A couple of other things just to keep you up to date:

• We had a great visit from our friends at Riverbend who provide recovery coaching for substance use disorder in our region.

• We restocked the pantry shelves at the Ayer Library and started our assessment of which items were in the highest demand.

• We received the shelf-stable portion of our Thanksgiving bags from Lin and Vinny, and we are very grateful to them for putting them together (along with one of Vinny's friends), and to all of you who helped to finance them!

If you would like to shop for us this week, there are a few things we need: women's socks (new, please), canned pasta, canned corn, small jars of jelly, shelf-stable milk, and packets of ramen noodles (any flavor but fish/shellfish). If you would like to help with Thanksgiving, we are still collecting $25 gift cards to any grocery store for the families to be able to purchase a turkey and fresh produce. You can purchase the gift cards yourself if you'd like (but please make them $25), or you can make a donation in any amount towards the cards. We can take drop-offs at the pantry (through the gray door next to the parking lot on Cambridge Street) only on Wednesdays from 10 to noon, Fridays from 4 to 5, and Saturdays only from 9 to 10. Please do not leave food at the door outside of these hours. A bin is available to drop off SHELF-STABLE FOODS ONLY (plus socks!!) at Ayer Shop n' Save if those times don't suit, or you can email me to make different arrangements. Please also leave a note in the bag with your name so we know whom to thank when you do drop off food at the store! We are located at 21 Washington Street, Suite C, Ayer MA 01432

Have a great week...I love you all!