Struggling Brockton immigrants fed by pantry supported by Helping ... - Enterprise News

Struggling Brockton immigrants fed by pantry supported by Helping ... - Enterprise News

Immigrants who come to Brockton, mostly from Cape Verde, have been able to get on their feet in a new country with the help of a local food pantry that receives support from The Enterprise Helping Hands Fund.

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

BROCKTON – Immigrants who come to Brockton, mostly from Cape Verde, have been able to get on their feet in a new country with the help of a local food pantry that receives support from The Enterprise Helping Hands Fund.

“There are a lot of people who are newly arrived here and they need help with food,” said Joseph Lapointe, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Edith Stein Parish. “If we didn’t get donations from places like the Helping Hands Fund, it would limit the amount of food we could distribute, and it would have a big impact on the people we serve.”

About 75 percent of the families who come each week to the Brockton food pantry are from Cape Verde, said Lapointe, the president of the St. Vincent De Paul affiliate for more than three years. Last year, right after its holiday fundraiser, the food pantry was provided $2,500 from the Helping Hands Fund, which also makes additional donations throughout the year.

“There is definitely a lot of need in that community,” Lapointe said. “The money helps us serve them a little bit better, and it makes a big difference in their lives.”

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul located at St. Edith Stein helps about 110 families per month with weekly packages of groceries, Lapointe said. Last year, the organization gave out 14,000 pounds of food, he said.

That does not include around 12 homeless people who are regularly provided food assistance through the Brockton food pantry, Lapointe said.

In previous years, when the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Edith Stein Parish has extra donations, the charity said it uses part of its funding to provide low-income Brockton residents with heating fuel assistance. In 2015, it was able to provide heating assistance for 36 local families, Lapointe said.

The organization also gives out turkey and all the fixings for holiday dinners to local families in need. It provided 139 dinners to families this year on Thanksgiving, Lapointe said. And the charity now has 110 people signed up to receive dinner packages for Christmas this year, Lapointe said.

“It’s a very satisfying feeling to know that you’re able to help people out around the holiday season,” said Lapointe, adding that the charity has received donations from the Helping Hands Fund each year since he’s became involved in 2011, and long before that as well. “It gives you a satisfied feeling that – if it comes to the end of the month, and they might be skimping on meals or eating minimal meals – you’re able to help them.”

The Enterprise Helping Hands Fund has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars during the last couple decades, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to local charities like the Society of St. Vincent de Paul food pantry.

By the end of its 2015 donation campaign, 257 people contributed to the Helping Hands Fund and $43,562 was raised for charity. In the year before that, the fund distributed almost $50,000 to charities in the area.

Readers of The Enterprise who want to participate should look for Helping Hands Fund coupons in the daily newspaper for more information on how to make a donation, or visit http://ift.tt/KCR6EA for additional details. Donations can also be sent by check or can be made out in-person at The Enterprise office, located at 1324 Belmont St., Unit 102, Brockton. All donors will be listed each week both online and in print editions of The Enterprise.