Programs

Food Pantry

Food insecurity among Rhode Island families is a real and urgent social issue; one that the East Bay Food Pantry (EBFP) is addressing with compassion, expertise and innovation. Clients from the East Bay area are served free of charge once a month at the Food Pantry and have exclusive shopping privileges at the Thrift Shop every Wednesday.  EBFP is located one block from the bus line and EBFP clients reside in the towns of East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, and Little Compton.  Our “Client Choice” food pantry offers each client household selections based upon household size and key nutritional guidelines.  This offers our clients a great measure of dignity because they “shop” for themselves – choosing food they are more likely to utilize.

Holiday Baskets and Gifts

The Bristol County Elks East Bay Cares Program, Bristol Rotary, First Congregational Church, Colt Andrews and Guiteras schools, and many caring community members assisted in fulfilling Thanksgiving basket requests for 290 client families. This represents nearly a 300% increase over the prior year.  Instead of offering meal baskets at Christmas, we began a Christmas-for-kids program that provided gifts for 187 children in December 2010.  Over 25 businesses, churches, and individuals donated presents to East Bay children who would have received little or nothing Christmas.

Thrift Shop Vouchers

This program enables area social service agencies and local schools to refer families and individuals experiencing hardship to shop in the Thrift Shop at no cost.  We give out an average of $300 worth of clothing, house-wares, and/or furniture to folks in need every month.

Access Nutrition Initiative

Our goal is to consistently offer whole grains and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in all forms to our clients who rely on the EBFP to supplement their food needs.  We are working to build nutrition consciousness into the culture of the EBFP, involving clients, staff and volunteers.

Access Nutrition combines the resources available from the RI Community Food Bank (targeted program foods, when available, and written materials) with the hands-on community services provided by SNAP-Ed and our own in-house, professional resources to offer more than just food to our at-risk clients. EBFP has a professional nutritionist who serves on the Board, works at the EBFP as a weekly volunteer, and serves as program consultant for Access Nutrition. In addition, a SNAP-Education dietician offers quarterly healthy food tastings, sharing recipes and collecting data on client responses.

EBFP is committed to building a nutrition-conscious culture that is evidenced year-round, not just during the growing season. This holistic approach includes educating staff and volunteers and offering activities for children focused on healthy eating.  We are energized by the real potential for positive impact this initiative can make in the lives of some of the most vulnerable RI children and their families.

Fresh Food Fridays

We offer fresh food (produce, bread, etc) to our clients every Friday.  This means that in addition to their regular, once a month pantry “shop”, clients may come in any Friday they wish to pick up produce and/or bread that is available.  We want to support our clients’ incorporating fresh food into their diet every week.  In addition, we are committed to getting produce and bread to our clients in its freshest and most nutritious state.  The program was developed to support the goals of our Access Nutrition Initiative.

Grow-A-Row

The EBFP invites local gardeners and farms to grow and donate produce to our food pantry every Wednesday as crops are ready to harvest.  Fresh produce is an essential component of a healthy diet, but is not donated frequently enough to supply demand at the East Bay Food Pantry.  Grow-A-Row is an ideal vehicle to engage community, build relationships, and provide our clients with access to fresh, local produce.  We have formed partnerships with Simmons Farm, Blithewold Gardens, Magaziner Farm, and Warren Community Garden among others, to bring additional fresh, locally grown produce to our clients every week.  Grow-A-Row is a component of our Access Nutrition Initiative and helps supply our Fresh Food Fridays during the growing season.