The Giving Season Project

2.7 million families nationwide don’t know where they are going to find their next meal. 1 in 9 children in Massachusetts are struggling with hunger. Every year around the holidays, parents feel like they need to stretch their dollars to provide for their families. What if you could help make it easier for 1 family this year?

Our father Joseph Carr, a Medford Rotary Club member, helped to create a Holiday Food Basket program over 40 years ago that has helped to feed thousands of families during the holiday season. Through financial and food donations every December, teams of people have worked together to provide a complete turkey dinner with all the sides and fixings for families that need a little help.

One basket costs $92 and will easily feed a family of 5.

Our goal in the first year was to raise enough to feed 25 families. We were overwhelmed with support and over a period of just 10 days, we raised enough to feed over 100 families. We worked with local schools, churches, food banks, and other entities to identify unmet needs. Over 70 volunteers gathered at the Lancaster firehouse, sorted, assembled, and delivered food packages to families across Worcester and Middlesex counties.

For 2020 and 2021, we moved into a larger space at the Leominster Eagles hall and expanded to feed over 350 families across Worcester and Middlesex counties. We had over 150 volunteers packing, boxing, and delivering food to families from Sturbridge to Haverhill.

In 2022, we doubled our efforts with a base in Leominster and then another in Lowell where between the two, we fed 600 families across 37 different towns in Eastern and Central Mass. We had over 250 volunteers help us. In 2023, we will continue to do the same.

The biggest roadblock to getting food to families is the perceived awkwardness of having the family pick up the donation, so we take that completely out of the process. Our volunteers deliver food right to the door of families in need and we don’t allow anyone to deliver in their own town. This process has made it easier for families.