Since 1980 Bread & Roses has fed hungry people and responded to the needs of those suffering in the Merrimack Valley. The soup kitchen has evolved from its humble beginnings in 1980, when it was a one-room storefront serving meals to hungry people, to the place of sustenance and support it is today. Our soup kitchen volunteers greet as many as 160 guests a night – men, women and children who have to be or want to be here.

 

At Bread & Roses we always try to find out what we can do for our guests besides giving them a hot, home-cooked meal. We’ve become more than a soup kitchen. We find a warm coat for a cold person. We will find shelter for a guest on a frigid night. We reach out to them in their time of need to help them to find the right resources, with compassion, respect and dignity, regardless of their circumstances.

 

The needs of guests are tended to by a great number of volunteers who work tireless hours in the kitchen and in the office, performing a variety of services such as cooking and delivering meals to Newbury Street, serving meals to guests, running food and fundraising drives, and making donations of time, money and goods. I’m immensely proud of our volunteers who tirelessly deliver food and services to us, and people who work inside their organizations whom we never get to see; without them, we and the clientele we serve could not survive.

 

It was a tough year for us, and we struggle to deliver vital services even when times are good. This year we built new community partnerships and launched our new website. We also ran a very successful donation drive, raising over $40,000 to continue our work in the community.

 

In 2011, as we continue to expand our volunteer staff, I hope you will find it in your hearts to join us.