August 31, 2019

Gray House to hold ‘Fill the Plate, Feed a Family’ fundraiser Sept. 1-30

REGIONAL
Staff report

(IObserve file photo/Rebecca Drake)

SPRINGFIELD – The Gray House, a nonprofit organization in the North End of Springfield, is kicking off its fifth annual “Fill the Plate, Feed a Family Challenge,” an online fundraising initiative which will run from Sunday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 30. 

The organization has a goal of raising $15,000 for the month of September and is asking the community to help them reach this goal. All proceeds will directly support The Market at Gray House, a food assistance program which serves an average of 460 households each month. 

The efforts will kick-off at Hot Table at Tower Square in Springfield on Wednesday, Sept. 4 when 50% of proceeds from sales throughout the day will benefit The Gray House. Patrons must present the cashier with a fundraising flyer, which can be found at www.GrayHouse.org.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno will arrive at Hot Table between 11:30 a.m. and noon to make his annual donation in support of The Market at Gray House. 

Throughout the month, The Gray House is asking for monetary donations to help fill the plates of families in need. Donations can be made at www.mightycause.com/FTP2019 . The first $4,000 in donations through the site will be matched thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. More information can also be found on The Gray House website at www.GrayHouse.org. 

Since beginning this fundraising initiative in 2015, The Gray House has raised over $44,000 to support the food assistance operations.

“The donations from ‘Fill The Plate’ are leveraged to provide food to families in need, individuals who are homeless, the elderly, veterans and folks from all walks of life,” said Teresa Liberti, executive director at The Gray House. “We encourage donors to post on social media and share with their networks so that we can raise awareness of food insecurity in our community and raise the much needed funds to support these efforts.”

In September of 2018, The Gray House rebranded its food assistance program to The Market at Gray House and began offering evening hours on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. “These changes helped us to reduce the stigma associated with food assistance and improve accessibility to ‘working poor’ families in the community,” said Liberti. “As a result, we’ve seen an increase in the number of individuals served each month of 20%. The funds raised through ‘Fill the Plate’ are invaluable in allowing us to continue making improvements such as this.”