Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation gives $50,000 to sponsor Bridgeport COVID-19 Relief Meal Delivery Project

(Wellesley, MA) – Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation today announced it will contribute $50,000 to FEED (The Center for Food Equity + Economic Development) to sponsor and coordinate the Bridgeport COVID-19 Relief Meal Delivery Project. Starting Wednesday, April 29th and running for four weeks initially, FEED, a program of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, will prepare 400 weekly dinner meals for Bridgeport families in need. As part of this project, 200 meals will be delivered at Curiale School on Wednesdays at 9am, and 200 meals will be delivered at Blackham School on Fridays at 9am. Deliveries will be made using the FEED Mobile Marketplace truck. As a result of FEED Center’s sponsorship of the meals program, at least three local people will now be back to work helping others.

“Through our partnership with the FEED Center, nutritious family meals will be delivered to our most vulnerable neighbors during these challenging times,” said Michael Carson, president and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and chair of the Foundation’s board of directors. “This meal delivery project is designed to support social distancing, take care of those most at-risk for complications from COVID-19, and help put people whose jobs have been impacted by COVID-19 closures back to work. The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation has initiated similar meal delivery projects in Mass., NH. and Maine, and we remain committed to providing necessary resources to support our communities.”

As part of this project, the FEED Center will provide free fresh and frozen meals and milk, as well as the option to purchase fresh produce and eggs using SNAP dollars. Meals will be delivered on a first come, first served basis.

“As a current Healthy Food Fund partner with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, we are very committed to coordinating this local initiative and getting freshly cooked and healthy meals to those in our community who need it most,” said Michelle Lapine McCabe, Director of the FEED Center, which operates a Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supported Mobile Market. “This tremendous opportunity from Harvard Pilgrim Foundation comes at just the perfect time. Because schools can only provide meals for children, we will be able to provide opportunities for families to limit their travel to get good food for their entire household. We are thrilled to provide much-needed income to our FEED Center’s CREATE program graduates as well. We are all poised to take on this project and we are excited and very thankful that we can contribute.”

Harvard Pilgrim Foundation recently announced support for a number of Connecticut organizations as part of its $3.5 million COVID-19 relief efforts: The Hartford Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund ($100,000); CT Food Bank ($50,000), Foodshare ($50,000); Town of Plymouth Community Food Pantry ($25,000); and Clifford Beers ($25,000).

About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
Created in 1980, The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supports Harvard Pilgrim’s mission to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve. The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation provides the tools, training and leadership to help build healthy communities throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In 2019, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded nearly $2.9 million in grants to 990 nonprofit organizations in the region. Since its inception in 1980, the Foundation has awarded $155 million in funds and resources throughout the four states. For more information, please visit www.harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.