Reflections on Response & Resilience: A Message from Liza

We received a phone call from Representative Natalie Blais in late October. Her message was clear: SNAP benefits were not going to be paid out in November and we needed to rally the community to help our neighbors who would be negatively impacted by the loss of SNAP.

Immediately, Kristen reached out to district leaders and local food pantries, and an emergency food access program was born. Throughout November, the Mary Lyon Foundation, in partnership with Good Neighbors Food Pantry, Hilltown Churches Food Pantry, and all schools in the Hawlemont and Mohawk Trail Regional School Districts, as well as Rowe Elementary School, provided over 400 bags of food for students to take home. Additionally, we received approval from Hilltown Churches Food Pantry to add fourteen new families to our regular biweekly grocery delivery program.

The response from our community to the SNAP crisis was incredible. People reached out from all corners of the hilltowns to contribute time, food, and money. We used donations to purchase food, accepted food donations on behalf of food pantries and school districts, and welcomed new volunteers into the fold. They helped unload delivery trucks, pack their cars full of food, drive food to schools, and pack bags for students to take home each week. School staff stepped up, as they always do, to organize food deliveries and ensure that families were aware of the option to receive supplemental groceries.

This is how we care for our community. We respond quickly by rallying our partners and providing extra support to those who need it. What a privilege it is to be part of a community that does not hesitate to act on behalf of the well-being of others. Thank you to the many people who stepped up in the face of this unprecedented crisis – the educators, the community leaders, the donors, the food providers, and volunteers.