Somerville takes a modern approach to food charity

Two social workers in Somerville, MA have taken the healthy food initiative that many try to follow these days and applied it to serving meals to the underpriveleged. Hearty Meals For All is based in the Somerville Community Baptist Church, and serves healthy meals with organic and unprocessed ingredients. You might be wondering- where do they get these typically expensive ingredients? Food For Free, a nonprofit organization in Cambridge, organizes these items from surpluses that privately-owned markets and farms have left over- nothing is wasted! Besides just the meals, which are served twice a month, the program aims to provide a sense of dignity and respect to the recipients. They provide table service and volunteers actually eat with them. I think this scenario is unique and interesting because when you think of food pantries and soup kitchens, you think of boring, basic meals served in a systematic line. Hearty Meals For All takes into account the nutritional quality of the food as well as the spiritual and emotional health and satisfaction that can arise from a sense of community. I would imagine their approach would attract a bit of criticism, but we have to remember that people who can't afford meals are still people just like you and me ! They deserve health and happiness as much as the next person.

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