Milton residents organize & volunteer in community fridge food drives

Seeing the steep rise in food insecurity due to the pandemic, many Milton residents have volunteered to keep local community fridges stocked with fresh food for neighbors.

After seeing the efforts by neighbors working to keep the nearby community fridges stocked, East Milton resident Elaine Benson planned the first food drive on January 2nd, in partnership with the Dorchester fridge, Terrie Nicalek (of Catering by Terrie) and several other volunteers in town.

“It was humbling to see how quickly the food went.” – Elaine Benson

After seeing just how quickly the fridges became depleted, Ms. Benson reached out to Milton Neighbors for a second drive on the 16th. She was heartened after seeing how many people were eager to help those in need. For the event on the 16th, the Milton group partnered with Fair Foods and China Pearl Restaurant and were able to obtain more than 5 pallets of food: bags (pre-packaged by volunteers) of bread and produce, bags of potatoes and oranges, eggs, milk, yogurt, canned goods, cereal, and more.

On the day of the event, in the pouring rain, and with the help of many volunteers, the group set up tents, broke down the palletized food, and had a line with over 40 people before distribution began. Over 200 people were served, each leaving with three full bags of fresh food.

“I am so grateful to all of the Milton community members who contributed, especially our volunteers: Ha-Le Trang-Ng, Marie Kearney Morse, Natalie Howard Rey, Elizabeth Ryan and her granddaughter Elle, Joanne Lloyd-Farber, Gretchen Carey, Susan O’Hara Riley, Jim Riley, Terrie Harrington Nicalek, Michael Nicalek, Monique Aurora Tello, Bob Socci, and Brenda Johnson.” – Elaine Benson

Please consider donating food to both nearby fridges:

Mattapan (1290 Blue Hill Ave.) and Dorchester (1471 Dorchester Ave.)

Keep an eye out in Milton Neighbors and by subscribing to The Milton Scene for additional food drive and volunteer organization.