Press Release Contact: Caroline Pelletier, Development The Charity Guild Phone: 774-240-0904 Email: caroline@thecharityguild.org --Local Brockton Food Pantry Programs Commemorate Four Years of the Brockton Area Hunger Network Cooperative Intake Program July 2024 – BAHN Coop partners proudly announce the fourth anniversary of the Brockton Area Hunger Network (BAHN) Cooperative Intake Program—an innovative initiative to transform and empower our fight against food insecurity in the Greater Brockton Area. This milestone marks continued progress in addressing the unique challenges faced by our community. In late 2020, Mayor Robert Sullivan’s office received a call from Beth Israel Lahey Health with a potential grant funding opportunity for nonprofits addressing food insecurity. Koren Cappiello, previously with the mayor’s office and now with Brockton Public Schools, initiated a cross-agency discussion focused on food insecurity and asked The Charity Guild’s executive director, Laura Striese, to facilitate the roundtable. The discussion focused on formulating an innovative strategy to combat food insecurity in Brockton. The Charity Guild proposed a cross-agency program to unify the client intake processes and give our programs the ability to gather a deeper understanding of food insecurity specifically in Brockton. While very broad Massachusetts-wide food insecurity survey results are available, our BAHN Cooperative Program enables our programs to collaboratively address the specific needs and challenges of the Brockton community. As we enter into the fourth year of the program, it is our understanding that the BAHN Cooperative is the first initiative of its kind in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The BAHN Cooperative Intake Team includes (alphabetically): ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South Brockton Public Schools Catholic Charities South The Charity Guild Father Bill’s & MainSpring Full Gospel Tabernacle Church Massasoit Community College Salvation Army Brockton