Change You Can Believe In

While it's possible to get by without the latest gadget or fancy ride, one thing none of us can avoid is hunger. Every person needs food to live a long and healthy life style. 

With that in mind, Gathering Change Inc. will host their first Hunger Awareness Breakfast on March 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the Thomson Country Club, 2 Mid Iron Drive, North Reading. The breakfast will offer insights to the importance of healthy eating and ways to get involved to assist people during this tough time.

Gathering Change, which accepts spare change donations and then gives them to North Shore food pantries—including two in Stoneham—and other local social programs, was founded in 2008 mainly due to the economy taking a turn for the worse.    

A statistic that many people don't know is that 625,000 people annually including the elderly, families with children and individuals who never thought they would ever need food services, are receiving assistance from Massachusetts food pantries, according to a press statement from Gathering Change.

Food pantries serve as a bridge for people who don't have sufficient income to meet all their essentials. Over the past three years, the Gathering Change has raised thousands of dollars and donated that money to 39 community food pantries.

The Come to the Table Hunger Awareness initiative will allow Gathering Change to raise money. The Feinstein Foundation $1 Million Giveaway to end hunger will match a percentage of all donations generated within the months of March and April.

Any business or individual interested in sponsoring this event or that would like to attend the breakfast, visit Gathering Change's website or call 617-548-537.