Rhode Island Pride Press Release

March 23, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rhode Island Pride establishes Emergency Food/Toiletries/Sanitation Supply Drive

Rhode Island Pride is pushing forward in our efforts to meet community needs in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. In order to help clients comply with the RI Department of Health’s social distancing directive, the Emergency Mobile Supply Drive is well underway.

RI Pride has set up a temporary mobile food pantry at its office at 1055 Westminster Street. Food donations are received, sanitized, and organized in a low contact dropoff process in order to mitigate the danger posed by COVID-19; from here, volunteer drivers deliver goods directly to client doorsteps. Volunteers are monitored for handwashing and utilize gloves when handling donations. Clients in need of resources are to fill out the web based supply request form and await a confirmation call from RI Pride. In its 6 days of delivery, RI Pride has fed 575 people in approximately 16 Rhode Island cities and towns.

RI Pride has raised nearly $5000 from individual donors and a $1000 emergency seed grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund to support its work as it relates to the Emergency Supply Drive. The Grassroots Fund is dedicated to co-creating healthy and sustainable communities throughout New England. Grassroots Fund empowers individuals, groups and organizations working across a broad range of environmental and social justice issues. By helping them identify, select and access the specific tools, resources and connections they need to challenge existing systems, groups are able to develop lasting solutions to the complex problems affecting the places they live and the health of the people who live there. Grassroots Fund supports changemakers who face systemic and structural barriers to traditional funding.

RI Pride continues to raise money and engage with partners to support its efforts. Recently, the RI Pride Emergency Supply Drive was featured in the Providence Journal. The organization is seeking resources in the form of food and financial contributions to support the additional purchase of food, which it is purchasing at a bulk nonprofit price from the local restaurant depot, BJ’s, and local supermarkets; it is also seeking volunteer food packers and delivery drivers.

If you are in need, please submit a request to our program.

Please contact Rhode Island Pride at info@prideri.com for more information or questions