Bread & Roses Inc.
Food. Dignity. Compassion.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
1 in 8 people in Massachusetts struggle with hunger, and Essex County is home to the highest number receiving federal food assistance. The City of Lawrence remains the poorest in the state, with 1 out of 4 residents living below the poverty line. Bread & Roses is located in the center of Lawrence, within a six-block radius of a dozen shelters. 80% of those we serve are Latinx - many are recent immigrants. All have one thing in common: no one and no place to turn to for help. Bread & Roses effectively fills the role of safety net, caring community and extended family, all in one. Stable access to food is a critical component of a healthy community. Only when basic life essentials are met can an individual or family engage in the journey from disempowerment to self-sufficiency. Those asking for our services are experiencing extreme hardship, and we strive to meet the ever-increasing needs of a community.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emergency Food Pantry
We provide 3 days worth of food for an entire household in need, distributing both packaged food and ready to cook meals, on a case-by-case basis.
In FY23, we distributed 56x more Emergency Pantry meals were distributed
Starting in September 2023, we adopted a client choice model aka a grocery store model. This allows our guests autonomy and dignity in the items they need for their individual situations.
We never require a referral. We ask participants to call ahead and receive their appointment time same day. Because we don't require any form of ID or referral, we have guests from across multiple states that come to us for assistance.
Food Rescue
Our Food Rescue program rescues a yearly average of 232+ tons of food. Our Food Rescue Coordinator pick ups large scale food donations from wholesalers, grocery stores and restaurants that are then delivered to agencies serving immigrants, seniors, veterans and the homeless and unemployed across Lawrence. Our van travels 250+ miles every week making deliveries across Merrimack Valley.
In the upcoming year, we plan to dedicate one day a week to exclusively delivering hot meals (as well as clothing and toiletries) directly to individuals and families residing in the homeless encampments. We hope to reach a minimum of 150 unhoused individuals across Greater Lawrence.
Fresh Start Initiative
The Fresh Start Initiative aims to provide a critical service currently not offered in Lawrence - access to laundry services - a mostly unattainable luxury for those we serve. The ability to keep clothes or bedding clean and dry is a critical factor in staying healthy - and during winter months - alive.
Monthly Mobile Meals
Since 2021, Bread & Roses has provided 24 participating community members with an average of 18 meals each month–the equivalent of half of their monthly meals–through our Monthly Mobile Meals. Items in each delivery include full meal components, fresh protein and produce, and staples such as oil, sugar, eggs, coffee and milk. Local agencies in Lawrence help B&R to identify recipients and our Director Programs arranges the meal deliveries. This year, we plan to double the number of participants and expanding the program to serve more of our neighbors who aren’t able to come to Bread & Roses for our community meals.
Community Meals
Providing a safe, welcoming community space for all is at the heart of what we do. Our three-course nutritious meals are served by staff and volunteers restaurant style. After a hiatus due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we reopened for outdoor community meals in May 2022.
In September 2022, we transitioned to indoor Community Meals. Following a guest survey, we adopted a hybrid approach: guests can take their meals to-go or eat their meals in our dining room. This provides more autonomy to our guests. The to-go style is especially popular amongst our guests with children and individuals who work multiple jobs. Our dining room is more popular with our unhoused citizens, and this could be the only time throughout the day they are indoors.
We serve an average of 140-190 meals nightly, a 12% increase compared to the previous fiscal year.
During our Community Meals, we also host healthcare professionals from Greater Lawrence Family Health Center once a week.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total pounds of food rescued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Unemployed people, Immigrants and migrants, Economically disadvantaged people, Incarcerated people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Food Rescue
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
FY23 represented by 2022 FY22 represented by 2021
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Founded in 1980, Bread & Roses’ mission is to address the core necessities of the Merrimack Valley’s community members with a holistic and welcoming approach focusing on food insecurity and promoting self empowerment. We remain one of the longest serving Community Kitchens and Pantries in Lawrence and in Massachusetts.
We believe everyone has a right to nutritious food. Stable access to food is a critical component of a healthy community. Bread & Roses is more than a community kitchen - it's the hub of a vibrant community. We strive to meet essential life, health and safety needs of those we serve through evening meals, case management, community food outreach, pantry services and walk-in health services.
All in need have access to our services free of charge - regardless their residential, legal or income status. Through our services, we aim to equip the most marginalized in Lawrence with the necessary tools to move from disempowerment to self-sufficiency. Poverty isn't going anywhere anytime soon, especially in Lawrence - and as long as the need continues, we’re committed to fulfill our mission to serve on the frontlines of extreme poverty, meeting the individuals behind the statistics when and where they need help the most - regardless of legal status, religion, income, sobriety or mental health.
Unlike most non-profits, we don't accept any form of government or state funding. This allows us to truly serve everyone regardless of their circumstances. This allows us to serve our undocumented residents; working families that don't qualify for government assistance--truly anyone that needs our help.
Our goal is to be a place that people can always come to, without any barriers that they might find at other more traditional nonprofits. We work to serve the whole person and meet people where they are.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We accomplish our mission - nourishing of body and soul to thousands most at-risk with dignity and respect - through several programs including: Community Meals, Emergency Pantry, Food Rescue, and Fresh Start Laundry Program.
Our Community Meals provide warm, nutritious three-course dinners to 150-200 individuals and families five nights per week. All in need are welcome, and there is no charge for the meal. In addition, each guest receives supplemental food items to take home. Following a surevy with our guests, we adopted a hybrid service. Guests can take their meals to-go or eat in our restaurant style dining room. In the past fiscal year, we've served 12% more Community Meals compared to the previous year.
Our Emergency Pantry is stocked with food and other life essentials, like toiletries, blankets, warm clothing, infant supplies, and other necessary products. For those in need of food, we provide each household member 3 days of food, including protein, fresh produce, and frozen meals cooked in-house. Other life essentials are prepared and provided upon request. We are providing 56x more meals through our pantry compared to the previous fiscal year.
Our Food Rescue program supplements all of our meal programs, rescuing thousands of pounds of food every week from local grocery stores and restaurants, including Stop & Shop; Shaw's; Panera; Chick-fil-A and more. We are rescuing 11% more food compared to the previous fiscal year.
Our Fresh Start Laundry program provides a month's worth of laundry services. We also have other programs, including a Monthly Mobile Meals program that delivers 18 meals per month to individuals unable to come to B&R and a mobile unit from Greater Lawrence Family Health Center that parks on-site during our Community Meals weekly.
We have partner organizations across the region who help to supplement our necessary items and who we help our guests access the services of to ensure that everyone's individual and unique needs are met.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bread & Roses is driven by and for the community - a collaborative network of guests, volunteers, staff, and supporters. The core group of supporters from our beginnings remain active. We’re passion heavy and administratively light - the successful leveraging of goods and services saving thousands of dollars yearly. Our 250+ volunteers logged over 19,200 hours in FY23 alone.
Since the beginning of 2022, our Executive Director has made it imperative that we always have at least 1 bilingual staff member on-site to best assist our guests. Since then, we've onboarded 3 full-time bilingual staff members.
Since we do not receive Federal or State funding, we rely on the generosity of our network of dedicated volunteers and community partners to keep our mission thriving; less than $15,000 is spent on food annually. We also partner with more than 30 agencies, including Neighbors in Need, Ruth's House, and the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center - in addition to a steady influx of food and supplies from businesses, community groups and wholesalers across the Merrimack Valley.
Working together with our volunteers, community partners, and staff, we are capable of providing essential life services to the people of Lawrence and effectively combating hunger in our community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Bread & Roses has achieved nearly four decades of fighting hunger with effective, grassroots programs and the active fostering of an extensive supportive network. We’re experiencing unprecedented growth.
In FY23, we provided 56x more meals just through our Emergency Pantry compared to the previous fiscal years. Last year, we did around 30 orders a month. Now we do 40-80 pantry orders a day.
To supplement this exponential growth across all of our programs, we've increased our partnerships in our Food Rescue program in order to ensure more food is available for our guests.
Additionally, in September 2023, we adopted a client choice model aka grocery store model for our pantry. This allows our guests to choose their items themselves, ensuring more dignity and autonomy, which is central to our goal.
We are also continuing to expand our partnerships with community organizations and local businesses to further expand the supplies we recieve in order to help even more individuals in our community.
Looking forward, we are exploring how to expand our space in order to match the need we are seeing. Our current building is too small to function as both a grocery store, kitchen, and dining room. We are in need of a 5,000 square food building located close to our current space in order to ensure we continue to help our current community as we expand.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Bread & Roses Inc.
Board of directorsas of 11/29/2023
Mr David Brown
Bookkeeping & Business Services
Term: 2018 - 2021
Kathleen FitzPatrick
Merrimack College
Dave Brown
Business & Bookkeeping Service, LLC
Thomas DiBurro
Retired
Michael Morrissey
Dell
Ronan Fitzmaurice
Alkermes
Hollie Williams
Real Living Schruender Real Estate
Paul Previte
Paul Previte/Ameriprise Financial Services
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data