Hello Friends, Over the years, A Simple Gesture has grown to cover more than a dozen food pantries across Guilford County plus supplying nonperishable food for medical clinics, school pantries, and pantries at Head Starts. Now we're able to expand our reach even further through RePurpose, which collects perishable foods from special events, stores, schools, and more and quickly distributes them to nonprofits serving meals to those in need. We're so happy to be able to address hunger in yet another way—and to keep this nutritious food out of trash cans and landfills. Read the article below to get an overview of the many food recovery activities RePurpose and its Director Laura Oxner are involved in. And watch for more exciting RePurpose news to come in the future as this initiative grows! The RePurpose motto is especially relevant during the holiday season: Feeding, not wasting! Leslie Isakoff President & COO Director

Will You Help Us Meet Our Matching Gift? GIVING TUESDAY is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which this year is November 30. A Simple Gesture is eligible to earn a very generous matching gift of $5,000—if we can meet our goal of raising $5,000. Click here to help us reach the goal and achieve that match!

Welcome to Our Newest ASG Partners We are so grateful to have local organizations invite us to attend their events and speak to their members. A big thank you to just a few of these recent partners: High Point Newcomer's Club GO FAR, which welcomed us to their big fall race Wesley Memorial, which invited ASG to its Connections Expo fair and to speak at several Sunday School classes. Northern Guilford High School, which hosted a fun run and 5K to benefit ASG Springfield Friends Meeting, which donated space to ASG at their craft fair the many businesses and organizations hosting holiday food drives, including Carolina Container, Distractions Art Studio, Kids R Kids on Pisgah Church, Greensboro Academy, High Point Yoga School, Allen Tate Oak Ridge, High Point University Admissions Department, St. Mary's Episcopal, Christ UMC, the STEM Early College at North Carolina A&T, the Early College at Guilford, The Fresh Market, and more! We'd love to come to speak to your club, civic group, neighborhood association, or faith community to let others know how they can help end hunger in Guilford County. Email [email protected] to get the ball rolling!

All About RePurpose Business is booming. Food recovery at grocery stores, distributors, and businesses has greatly increased, and that means we need more drivers to pick up and deliver food each day. If you're interested in Driver's Training, contact Laura at [email protected]. Just a few hours per week can make a huge difference in feeding those in need, saving precious funds for nonprofits, and keeping food out of landfills. RePurpose is now part of ReFed's Solutions Provider Directory, which includes over 850 organizations across the country. That means if a business or organization is looking to donate food or set up a food recovery program, they'll be able to find RePurpose. Check us out by searching North Carolina here. Statewide food councils are celebrating a wonderful WIN this November! The state budget includes funds for Standard Operating Procedures for Food Recovery initiatives. Standardizing procedures strengthens food recovery programs across the state and helps them grow.

Holiday Helpers As you do your holiday shopping, help support A Simple Gesture. Here's how: Vote for us with your Target Circle points. Visit target.com/circle. If ASG isn't showing up on your list, here’s a troubleshooting tip: Change your store to one in the 28314 zip code and refresh the list. ASG will be there!

Give a handmade wooden trivet, made by our own master craftsperson Jamie Danis. Jamie donates 100% of the proceeds to ASG! Two sizes are available: 7"x7" hardwood trivets are $12 and 7"x14" are $18. Order via the Designs by Jamie Danis Facebook page at www.facebook.com/designsbyjamiedanis or contact Jamie via email at [email protected].

Designate A Simple Gesture as one of your charities to support when you shop through Amazon Smile.

Stumped on what to give this year? Why not give a tribute to someone you care about while helping to end hunger? With a gift to A Simple Gesture, you'll receive this year's beautiful honor card, with which you can let your loved one know that you've made a donation in honor of them. Thoughtful and simple!

Above and Beyond! Cone Health MedCenter for Women has opened a referral-based food market to provide healthy food for patients in need. A Simple Gesture will collect thousands of pounds of food to stock this new cooperative effort. Special thanks to Anne Brennan, Sarah Winchell, and their spouses, who pitched in and helped the folks at Cone Health get the pantry unpacked and organized. Anne, Sarah, and crew arrived at Cone Health planning to drop off the food they had collected on their regular green bag pickup routes—and found the director with dozens of bags of food to unpack and sort, thanks to the generosity of our food donors. They stayed and helped sort and shelve the food donations—even folding the green bags for return to A Simple Gesture!

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