EOS Grant Aims To Help Hungry Seniors, Veterans And Others

HARWICH PORT – For people facing food insecurity — particularly during these insecure times — a food pantry is often the final safety net. But for those who can’t make it to a pantry, like homebound elders, an interruption in SNAP funds or a personal budget crunch might mean going hungry.

 Supporting programs that help these at-risk residents is the focus of an emergency grant from the Harwich-based EOS Foundation that was announced last week.

 The foundation focuses on finding systemic solutions that fight hunger across Massachusetts, including its successful Breakfast in the Classroom initiative. But when various federal support programs recently became threatened, foundation President Andrea Silbert of West Harwich said it was clear that an emergency infusion of funding was needed. And while the need is broad, “Cape Cod is our home, and we see first-hand the need that exists here,” she said.

 The foundation is providing $125,000 in grants and supermarket gift cards to support the most vulnerable populations and the groups that serve them.

 “The focus for us was really beyond the food banks,” Silbert said. She met with a collaborative being run by the Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) and Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands to ask how best to help.

 “They said, we have to get the people who can’t get to the food pantry,” she said. That includes senior citizens who can’t easily leave home and veterans and others who lack transportation.

Of the grant, $25,000 aims to support general operating expenses for HAC, the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, Lower Cape Outreach Council, Elder Services and the Falmouth Service Center. The remaining $100,000 comes in the form of supermarket gift cards to be distributed by those organizations through the Greater Boston Food Bank.

EOS has made emergency grants in the past, notably during the 2008 stock market crisis and again during COVID. The current grant comes at a critical time, not only because of the interruption in SNAP funds, but because of the increased need for food aid caused by reduced off-season work hours and the approaching holidays.

 “We convened Cape Cod leaders to discuss the local impact of federal funding restrictions on basic needs — food, shelter, and health care,” HAC CEO Alisa Magnotta said. “Once the SNAP cuts were announced, we shifted our focus to food. Thanks to the EOS Foundation and another generous donor, Housing Assistance is already distributing 500 supermarket gift cards through community health centers and veterans’ organizations to ensure quick access for those in need.”

 The past two weeks have been challenging ones, Elder Services CEO Maryanne Ryan said. 

 “Elder Services has been helping homebound seniors access food through gift cards, transportation, and home deliveries. Our community always rises to the occasion, but with uncertain state and federal funding for vital programs like Meals on Wheels, continued advocacy and awareness are essential to address food insecurity,” she said.

 While SNAP benefits appear to be flowing again, families in need are facing other financial pressures that often result in hunger, Silbert said. One key pressure is the cost of health insurance, which will increase dramatically for many middle-income people who are getting insurance under the Affordable Care Act, “which so many people on Cape Cod are. You’re not going to be able to afford health insurance,” she said. Coupled with the cost of home heating this winter, transportation, and the high cost of housing, “food becomes the discretionary expense for many people,” Silbert said. 

 That, in turn, causes health problems when people turn to less-expensive, high-calorie processed foods to fill their families’ plates. Many food-insecure people face health challenges because they are overweight, “because they’re eating the wrong calories,” Silbert said.

 “Every day, we see the impact of rising food and housing costs on families who are doing everything right and still can’t make ends meet,” said State Rep. Hadley Luddy, D-Orleans. Luddy praised EOS and its partner organizations for taking action for people in need. “We encourage anyone who is able to consider matching or extending this support through donations to local organizations across the Cape and Islands,” she said. A number of those organizations are engaged in holiday fundraisers; Lower Cape Outreach’s annual Gifts of Hope campaign is currently underway, and The Cape Cod Chronicle’s Helping Neighbors campaign for the Family Pantry of Cape Cod launches on Thanksgiving.

 “Even as vital supports like SNAP come back online, one in seven Massachusetts residents still struggles with food insecurity — a reminder that this work remains as urgent as ever,” said State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Provincetown.

 Silbert said she is heartened by the way the local community comes together to help neighbors in need during times of emergency.

 “Hats off to Cape Cod for really taking care of our own,” she said.