Rachel's Table

CONTACT:

633 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
508-799-7699
www.rachelstable.org

Carla Szymanski, Director

DESCRIPTION:

According to a 1997 USDA study, more than 200,000 children in Massachusetts are afflicted by hunger. Founded in 1989 by the Women’s Coalition of the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, Rachel’s Table is a volunteer-based food rescue program that distributes donated food to 45 agencies providing food to the hungry and homeless in Greater Worcester.

Hundreds of hungry people in Worcester seek food assistance daily. Often they are families with young children, people with jobs whose paychecks don’t stretch far enough to cover basic necessities. Low wages, high living costs, and a lack of affordable child care prevent many working parents from being able to provide nourishing food for their families.

Rachel’s Table is supported by more than 90 volunteers of all backgrounds and creeds, working as dispatchers, drivers, and solicitors of food donations. Drivers transport donated food in their own vehicles and at their own expense. In 2003, they distributed about 700,000 pounds of food and milk. Their Children’s Milk Fund provides over 600 gallons of milk weekly to thousands of children. Rachel's Table also purchases fruits and vegetables for the Worcester summer lunch program for needy children.

The people of Rachel’s Table have received numerous awards and recognition for their good work, including a National Presidential Point of Light, the Worcester County Food Bank Harvester Award, and in 2003, the Congressional Hunger Committee's Victory Against Hunger Award.

(2000: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: General)