PICTURED FROM THE left: First row: Anthony Presti of Housing Families, Stephanie Nelson of Melrose Kind, Mary Beth Walsh of Melrose Alliance Against Violence, Jana Gimenez of The Food Drive and “Give a Gobble” Founder Linda Apple. Second row: Kelly Hourigan of Melrose Kind and “Give a Gobble” Founder Sam Hammar. Third row: James Casey and Jennie Krems of Housing Families. (The Give a Gobble Team Photo)
MELROSE — The Melrose community donated 160 Thanksgiving meal kits to local families through a partnership with Housing Families, a Malden-based nonprofit organization. Housing Families works with communities, families and individuals to ensure housing stability by offering tailored services including temporary and permanent housing, food assistance, counseling and therapy, legal services and youth programs.
“Give a Gobble” was started in 2020 in response to a sharp increase in hunger and food scarcity among families due to COVID-19 pandemic. Four neighbors Sam Hammar, Linda Apple, Jess Dugan and Jen Leclerc came together to engage Melrosians to do what they do best, help others and the initiative became known as Melrose Together.
Now in its fifth year, the event is still bringing Melrose together. “Give a Gobble” is now run by a community collaborative of The Food Drive, Melrose Kind, Melrose Alliance Against Violence, Temple Beth Shalom Melrose and Housing Families building on Melrose Together’s visionary work.
Hosted at Temple Beth Shalom on Monday, November 25 donors delivered bagged meal kits assembled from a pre-arranged shopping list including a gift card for a turkey and many also included special touches like chocolates, festive napkins, games and handmade cards. The donations were delivered to Housing Families by a fleet of volunteer drivers then distributed to families by case workers on Monday and Tuesday.
