Cooking for Community has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of financial and tactical support we’ve received since we launched just over four months ago, but special thanks go to the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, run by Harvard Pilgrim, a New England-based not-for-profit health services company. Their steadfast commitment truly helped us get our feet on the ground.

Starting in May, Harvard Pilgrim provided Cooking for Community with $40,000 per month to team up with the YMCA of Southern Maine to get meals to needy and underserved households in the greater Portland area. Thanks to this gift, nine restaurants were able to bring back workers, and 16,000 meals over four months were served, using ingredients purchased from predominantly local farms. Harvard Pilgrim also gave the YMCA of Southern Maine $20,000 per month to re-employ furloughed workers for deliveries.

The impact of the Harvard Pilgrim funding cannot be overstated. The YMCA of Southern Maine supports many elderly and low-income people through the efforts of their four branches in Southern Maine. The pandemic and its attending challenges – job loss, communal dining services shut down, isolation – have exacerbated the dire situation for these individuals. Two months into our partnership, the YMCA reported that 71% of the households receiving meals were very low income; 23% identified as high risk for COVID-19; 20% were non-Caucasian and 9% were New Americans.

The common thread? Their lives were made a little easier by the nourishing meals that arrived at their doors and the chance for connection those deliveries created. “The food I've received from Cooking for Community has been such a boon to my diet, spirit, and budget!” says local resident ETS, “I pick up meals for myself and three of my neighbors at my local YMCA, which creates an opportunity for me to get out of my apartment and connect with other folks during this time of isolation. Your organization is a true blessing for our state.”

As Cooking for Community continues to seek and develop funding partnerships and expand our programming, it’s also important to pause and reflect upon what happens when community joins forces to serve its most vulnerable. Thank you Harvard Pilgrim for being a good neighbor.