DAVE AND LIZ Bianco of A1 Datashred with Jana Gimenez of The Food Drive during Saturday’s event. (Neil Zolot Photo)

By NEIL ZOLOT

MELROSE – People might not think there are many other people going hungry in Melrose and surrounding communities, but there are. “You’d be surprised how many people are experiencing food insecurity,” Food Drive treasurer Beth Blatchford said at a paper shredding fundraiser and food collection event at Melrose High School Saturday, April 6, during which A1 Datashred donated fees and people donated food to the Food Drive.

“Someone you know could be struggling and you might not know it,” added Jana Gimenez, who started The Food Drive in 2020 by with her husband Tony. “We saw news reports and all the people lined up at food pantries. The price of food is 30 percent higher than it was two years ago and 1 in 3 people in Massachusetts is going hungry.”

COVID exacerbated an already existing problem. “People were struggling before the pandemic, but it affected waste and need,” Gimenez said.

Part of The Food Drive’s work is “rescuing food” from markets and restaurants that would otherwise be thrown away, often fresh fruit and vegetables and baked goods and meats with expiration dates. “If there’s food being wasted and people are in need, a connection can be made,” Gimenez explained. “We rescue food and deliver it to food pantries and low income housing developments, where people might not be able to travel. No one in the area was doing that. There wasn’t a food rescue operation north of Boston.”

Ideally, food would be taken from a resource and delivered to people in need within one of the communities The Food Drive serves, which are Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield and Woburn in addition to Melrose.

It doesn’t always work that way, but the food gets somewhere. There are no specific areas in Melrose where the need is significantly greater than in others. “We don’t ask where people are from,” Gimenez reported. “It seems to be dispersed, but don’t ask for information. Everyone is welcome.”

Deliveries are made by volunteers, including Elizabeth Bianco, co-owner of A1 Datashred with her husband Dave. “We help with our own personal pickup truck,” she said.

Bianco and Gimenez were friends, in part because their children went to school together. One thing led to another and the Shred Event was a result.

Despite less than perfect weather, attendance was steady from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Over 7,000 pounds of paper was shredded, $2,000 raised and 350 pounds of food collected, mostly breakfast food as requested by The Food Drive. “People respond better when we say what we need,” Bianco said.

Shredding paper and collecting and redistributing food all dovetail. “It’s all about repurposing,” Bianco feels.

“I like the environmental aspect of all this,” Blatchford added. “Food is being used that would have been thrown away otherwise.”

“It’s nice of Liz and Dave to do this and it’s nice to have a resource like this, when you’re trying to get rid of records,” Mary Caddle of Melrose said of the shredding operation.

“I had some papers I needed shredded and it’s for a good cause, ”  Joe Tully of Melrose said of why he came.

The Bianco’s children are among The Food Drive’s volunteers. “It’s great we can provide food,” 15 year old Nick said. “Everyone throws away so much food and we can get it to people that need it.”

“It’s nice doing this,” 14 year old Isabella added.