Sustaining the Southcoast
“I always joke that we’re the only business in town trying to go out of business,” laughs Jackie Arsenault, director of Damien’s Place.
Jackie and her team are in the business of feeding East Wareham, where this GBFB partner agency is located, and several surrounding communities. When the COVID-19 crisis began, Jackie made a bold decision.
“We’ve been open to anyone who needs food, and we want to stay that way!” she vows.
Thanks to the steady support of GBFB, Jackie is confident about making this happen. Friends like you have already enabled her to double the capacity at Damien’s Place in this time of historic need. “We took on more space to prepack bags of food and store them,” she explains. “This has helped us serve up to 160 people every week.”
“GBFB has been fantastic,” Jackie continues. “We never got to a point where we ran out of food. We were even able to help supply two other local pantries.”
Being able to sustain her neighbors in need—like Pedro and his family, whom you met in this issue—is so important to Jackie.
“This isn’t a job for me, it’s a way of life,” she says simply. “On my days off, or lying awake at night, I’m constantly thinking of ways to improve our pantry. It’s a passion. I love being able to interact with our clients.”
Through your support, you can help Damien’s Place continue to improve just as its dedicated director envisions. Thank you for helping all of our local partners take on hunger!
