The Murray Church Food Pantry is an all-volunteer run outreach program of Murray Unitarian Universalist Church. This service is provided by the generosity of Murray Church members &   friends in the greater Attleboro community. We are open for grocery bag distribution two days a week on Mondays & Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:30AM. Our volunteers work to ensure that bags of food are readily available for people to come and pick up.  In addition to distributing bags of food, we provide information to our recipients about about area food resources to assist them in achieving self-sufficiency.
 

Our Mission Statement
The Murray Church Food Pantry is a committee of volunteers dedicated to assisting those in financial need with food assistance to supplement their food shopping. To that end, the pantry offers one bag of groceries per week, per family. In that bag, we will offer the highest nutritional value available. We gladly accept assistance from public and private aid agencies as well as from members of Murray Church and the greater Attleboro community. We work in accordance with federal, state and local guidelines for food pantries.

Who We Help
Our food pantry is open any household that participates in one of the following government assistance programs*:

In accordance with the federal and state guidelines, we require a person to sign in and provide their address, the number of people residing in their household, their ethnicity and their signature. By providing their signature, the recipients are verifying that they are currently receiving one of the benefits mentioned above.

* Per US Dept of Agriculture (USDA), The Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Mass. Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP)
 

The Alarming Problem of Hunger in Massachusetts

Project Bread’s 2011 Status Report on Hunger in Massachusetts

The number of households in Massachusetts facing hunger continues to climb. In 2010, Massachusetts experienced its highest rate of food insecurity since the USDA started collecting this data in 1995, an astounding 10.8 percent of households were food insecure

There are two states of Massachusetts: one in which the median income for wealthy residents continues to rise; and the other where thousands of families slide backward. Families on the wrong side of the income gap tend to be isolated in communities that are food deserts, lack the resources to serve healthy school food, and struggle to offer comprehensive emergency food programs.

The chronically homeless, the newly homeless through foreclosure, the unemployed, the unemployed who have exhausted benefits, the under-employed, the elderly, children, and immigrants — these groups are just some of the people behind the statistics of the other Massachusetts who find that hard work isn’t always enough.

The new thinking in hunger relief shows that no one response adequately fits all situations. Focusing on solutions that help the individual and strengthen the community is the best way to have a sustainable impact.

Hunger is a serious public health issue. There is considerable evidence that inadequate nutrition results in both health and learning problems. Particularly disturbing is the disproportionate impact of hunger on children and the elderly.*

*Source: Project Bread

Local Hunger Issues
Due to the struggling economy, our local area has also seen an increase in the number of individuals and families seeking help. Our own food pantry faces a challenge in that we've seen about a ten percent increase in the number of people looking for help while our food donations have gone down slightly.

Overall, charities have hit on hard times with contributions falling almost 5 percent last year. The impact is immediate and can be seen and felt in our local area, as this news report indicates. A recent article in our local paper highlights increased demand at the Wrentham Food Pantry. Another news article speaks about the rising number of middle class families now seeking help to put food on their tables. Even our own Sun Chronicle newspaper has has asked its readers to put food pantries on their holiday gift list due to the increases numbers of people seeking assistance. Your help is needed now more than ever.

How You Can Help
As many of you know there is much need in the area for food. Some children in Attleboro and surrounding communities go to bed hungry most nights. Murray Unitarian Universalist Church is a part of the food distribution system for the Greater Boston Food Bank. We have volunteers that pick up, sort and distribute food to our food pantry visitors.

To supplement the food we receive from the food bank and other sources, we always welcome donations of food, paper goods or toiletries to the Food Pantry. We are always in need of staple items including: hearty soups, canned tuna fish, jars of peanut butter, mac-n-cheese, pasta, pasta sauce (in a plastic jar), juices and juice boxes and Parmalat and dry milk.

Also other staples such as cereal, rice, beans, canned soups and vegetables, toilet paper and toiletries are always gladly accepted. We will also accept donations of fresh fruit and vegetables that provide additional nutrition to our recipients.

Product Dating--Food donations received throughout the year are always appreciated.  Unfortunately, some items received cannot be put on our food pantry shelves because they do not meet guidelines the pantry is required to follow.  Canned foods which are 12 months past the date stamped on the can may not be distributed to clients even though the shelf life for a particular item may be longer.  Packaged foods may not exceed 6 months past the date on the product.

Donations can be left in the box across from the Church Office or in the basket in the front foyer of the church.

Your Financial Support
Although we do receive some financial support through local grants, as a totally volunteer food pantry we rely on the generousity of our members and friends in the Greater Attleboro community to keep our food pantry running.

Monetary contributions are gratefully accepted. These contributions are added to the food pantry account and used to purchase food at very low prices from the Greater Boston Food Bank and at sale prices from local supermarkets.  Checks can be made out to "Murray Church" with the words "food pantry donation" on the memo line and placed in the collection plate or dropped off or mailed to the Church Office.  Donations to the food pantry can be claimed as a charitable contributions for income tax reporting purposes.

Our Volunteers

Many people in our local community depend on the food we provide through the Food Pantry at Murray Church. We are able to provide this service due to a dedicated group of volunteers who help keep the operation running smoothly. Once per month, our volunteers order food through the Greater Boston Food Bank, pick up the food delivery in Taunton and deliver it to the church. Due to their dedication, the food pantry is open two days a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, all year round.

We thank them and the community for their continued support!

Food Pantry Supporters - Thank You!
We would like to thank the following businesses, organizations, and individuals for their contributions to the Murray Food Pantry:

• Ann Sears, Professor of Music at Wheaton College
• Attleboro Cultural Council
• Attleboro City Employees
• Bank of America - North Main St. Branch - Attleboro
• Foresight Personal Financial Planning, LLC
• Friends of the Murray Food Pantry
• Greater Boston Food Bank
• In Memory of Tim Sullivan, founder of Schools Fight Hunger
• Life Care Center of Attleboro
• Mansfield High School Science Teacher Deborah Fournier and her students
• Milton Chiropractic/Bay State Physical Therapy
• Murray UU Church Congregation
• Personal Best Karate
• PriceRite - Seekonk
• Rhode Island Wind Ensemble
• Seabra Supermarket - Attleboro
• St. Vincent de Paul Society
• Whole Foods

 Music Concerts to Benefit the Food Pantry

In 2011, members of the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble put on a great performance of classical and contemporary music in our sanctuary. This event was sponsored by generous contributions from the Attleboro Cultural Council, Foresight Personal Financial Planning, LLC and Allison MacDonald.

Recently in October, we celebrated Franz Liszt's 200th birthday with a wonderful performance of classical piano music by Wheaton College professor Ann Sears. She also performed works of Ravel and DeBussey.

Both concerts were free but goodwill cash and food donations were accepted at the door. We thank the community for your generous contributions to help sustain the work of our food pantry!

Thanksgiving Basket Drive

For the past few years, we've sponsored a Thanksgiving Basket Drive. With the help of our congregation, the local food bank and other local organizations, we've been able to put together generous baskets with turkeys and all the trimmings, including a selection of fresh vegetables and fruits. We thank each and everyone who contribute in some way to these successful endeavors including those who donate food, baskets, financial contributions or their time to make these events a great success.   

Through these efforts, we are able to distribute Thanksgiving baskets to several appreciative individuals and families from our local community, many of whom are regular food pantry visitors.   Many thanks for all of your help and support!

Area Food Drives

Attleboro’s Annual Holiday Spirit Food Drive

Every year since 1986, the City of Attleboro employees organize an annual food & clothing drive.  City employees work tirelessly to collect hats, mittens, toys, and canned and dry grocery items for local distribution. Each year, Murray Church members volunteer their time to pick up food that is collected by Attleboro City Hall employees. The food we receive from the drive is sorted and placed into our food pantry for distribution to our clients. Thank you to all the volunteers and to the city employees for their generous donations.

Life Care Center of Attleboro

Life Care Center of Attleboro,  is conducting an ongoing food drive to benefit the Murray Food Pantry. Donations of food and groceries are now being accepted at their facility located at 969 Park Street, Attleboro. Donations of the following staple food items are greatly appreciated: hearty soups, peanut butter, canned tuna, pasta, rice, dry and Parmalat milk, canned tomato poducts, pasta sauce, green and yellow vegetables canned fruit and fruit juices. Also, personal care items and other toiletries are always appreciated. Thanks for your help!

Deb Fournier & the Students at Mansfield High School

Thank you to science teacher, Deb Fournier, for organizing an ongoing food collection drive with her students at Mansfield High School. We recently received over 9 boxes of grocery items to benefit the Murray Church Food Pantry. These donations will be added to our food resources and we allow us to provide ongoing food assistance to those in need in our community. We appreciate your ongoing commitment to give back to the community in such a meaningful way. Many thanks to all for your kindness.

Milton Chiropractic/Bay State Massage Therapy

Thank you to the entire office staff at Milton Chiropractic / Bay State Massage Therapy in South Attleboro for organizing a food collection drive. Through their thoughtfulness and consideration, we received several boxes of much needed grocery items to benefit the Murray Church Food Pantry. Thanks for your concern and support!

Other Food Resources
In addition to our food pantry, there is a regional network of other food resources in the area, including soup kitchens, food pantries, social service agencies and churches that provide food assistance to the local community. Click here to view the list.