MLK Community Center announces new Food 2 Friends program

MLK Community Center's

Newport County Food Collaborative announces  

New Food 2 Friends Program

 Volunteers Needed, Clients Welcome

In 2012 the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center distributed over 113,000 meals to clients who visited our food pantry. However, the MLK Center recognizes that there are still many hungry and homebound Newport County neighbors who can't get to the pantry and need help.

Thanks to a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation's Newport County Fund, the MLK Center has formed the Newport County Food Collaborative to partner with community stakeholders fighting hunger. The new Food 2 Friends Program is the result of that collaboration. The pilot program's purpose is to deliver food pantry groceries to people who are unable to visit the food pantry in person.

Each month Food 2 Friends clients will be given a list of available food to allow them to choose the food that meets their cultural and dietary needs. Clients may have a proxy shopper, someone they know, come to the Center once a month to shop and bring the food to them OR a volunteer will fill the client's food order and deliver it to them.

You can make a difference! Volunteers are needed in the following areas:

• Proxy shoppers to shop, pack and deliver the food to clients' homes.
• Stockers and baggers to restock the Food Pantry and prepare food bags for client delivery.

The initial volunteer training will be held February 5 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the MLK Center - 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd. Newport.

Do you know of someone who needs help from Food 2 Friends? Are you interested in volunteering?

To get involved, please contact: Susan Wells  401-378-7595