We are looking for more walkers and riders for our team at this year's Ride For Food. You read that right -- walkers and riders. Both can participate in this annual event organized by Three Squares New England that benefits food relief organizations across the state. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, October 1 at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham. There are several ways to participate: a 5K walk; bike rides of 25, 50 or 62 (a metric century!) miles; and a virtual option where you can choose your own activity. Ride For Food is an awesome event, with lots of supportive fellow walkers and riders, food trucks, a fun DJ, beer and massages. The post-event party is a great way to socialize with teammates, as well as people from other organizations, and to celebrate your accomplishment. 

Last year, Team Centre Street was 20 members strong and raised an amazing $43,000 to fight food security, the third highest team total. This year we’re shooting for 30 team members! Will you join our team? Participants are required to raise at least $350, all of which will go directly to helping food insecure families served by Centre Street. The pantry helps you reach (and exceed) the goal, with email templates and creative fundraising ideas.

For more information, please contact Team CSFP captain (and Board President) Taylor Lies. To register, please follow this link: 

Register here

If you aren’t able to participate in this year’s event, please consider donating to our team or one of our riders. You can visit our team page here:

Donate here

Centre Street Food Pantry is very excited to announce that we will be launching a new website later this month. We can’t share too much right now, plus you only need to wait a few more weeks. But it will have a fresh new design and even more information to keep you up to date about Centre Street. Our website is of course key to communicating our mission and connecting with clients, donors, volunteers and friends. It’s also an important foundation for our fundraising. We have been fortunate to work with a terrific web design team over the past several months on this critical project. We’d like to thank Andrew Child (User Experience Designer) and Betsy Blazar (Website Designer) for their work and guidance, as well as all of our volunteers, donors and staff who shared their ideas and insights with us during this process. Be on the lookout for an email announcing our go-live date very soon!

Please join us in welcoming our newest staff member, Meredith Madison! She joined the team in July as our Volunteer Manager and has already assumed responsibility for volunteer scheduling, orientations, training, and recognition. Additionally, she works in partnership with other staff to make sure that volunteers feel welcome and equipped to be successful. 

Meredith is a career HR professional with skills in employee development and engagement for businesses and social services non-profit organizations, including eight years with the Justice Resource Institute (JRI) in Needham. During COVID she led the Ashland food pantry, overseeing volunteers, food acquisition and distribution, and client intake and management. After leaving that position, she performed contract work to assist emerging businesses and non-profits. “What attracted me to Centre Street’s Volunteer Manager position was the opportunity to bring my professional experience and passion for employee development to a nonprofit working in an area making an immediate impact in the community.” We are thrilled to have her on board!

We are only able to serve our neighbors because of the generosity and kindness of our donors and volunteers. To recognize the commitment of our supporters, we hosted our first ever donor event on June 6th at the pantry. Donors were able to witness a service day in action and see firsthand the impact of their contributions. Our Executive Director, Rose Saia, and Board President, Taylor Lies, answered questions and shared client stories. We plan to host a second donor event on Tuesday, September 19th and welcome anyone who is interested in learning how their giving is employed at Centre Street. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Amy Silberstein, Co-Chair of Marketing & Fundraising.