Harvest on Vine
Harvest on Vine
November 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday November 10th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday November 11th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Tuesday, November 21st – 11:30 am – Set-up
1:00 pm – Thanksgiving Basket Distribution
Harvest on Vine
October 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday October 13th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday October 14th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Monday, October 30th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
*Tuesday, October 31st – 2:00 pm – Distribution
*Note time change for distribution – it is too dark at 6:00pm2:00 pm
Mishawum Park
Thursday, October 19th – 1:00 pm – (Dunstable St.)
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you and Happy Halloween
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
September 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday September 8th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday September 9th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Saturday, September 16th Community Cookout 1:00pm!
Monday, September 25th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, September 26th – 6:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Thursday, September 21st – 1:00 pm – Set-up
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
August 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday August 10th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday August 12th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Monday, August 28th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, August 29th – 6:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Thursday, August 17th – 1:00 pm – Set-up
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
July 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday July 7th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday July 8th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Friday, July 21st – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, July 25th – 6:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Thursday, July 20th – 1:00 pm – Set-up
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Navy Yard Summer Solstice Celebration
THIS Wednesday, June 21, 2023
5:00 PM to Sunset
Amphitheater in Shipyard Park
Co-Sponsored with Friends of the Charlestown Navy Yard &
Charlestown Mothers Association
Harvest on Vine emergency food pantry will be hosting a table at the summer solstice celebration in the Navy Yard on June 21st. Please stop by and say hello if you are in the area. Harvest on Vine is grateful for your support. Because of your generosity, we have the means to put forth a first-class food pantry, giving each family we serve roughly ten days of groceries. Thank you!
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
June 2023 getting set up for new distribution procedure . . .
Harvest on Vine
June 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday June 9th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday June 10th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Monday, June 26th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, June 27th – 6:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Thursday, June 22nd – 1:00 pm – Set-up
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
Summer 2023
Summer is coming and school will be out. As in summer past, we are requesting cereal donations for a cereal drive. If you are able to help out, please drop the boxes of cereal off at the Church before or after the Masses. You can also drop off cereal (or other food donations) at the Parish Center office – 46 Winthrop Street or at the Food Pantry on Vine Street.
Thank you.
Tom MacDonald
Social Ministry Director
Harvest on Vine
Update May 2023
The future of Harvest on Vine emergency food pantry looks bright. We received funding to buy an 8’ x 10’ outdoor freezer, which will give us the capacity we need to store plenty of meat, pork, poultry, and fish, as well as frozen fruits and vegetables. Our families prefer these foods, and we will soon have the freezer space to match the need.
Once the freezer is installed, we are building an overhang in the rectory parking lot, similar in size to the canopy we rent for the Thanksgiving distribution. The overhang will provide shelter in the winter and shade in the summer. We started distributing food outside in response to the pandemic. We will continue this practice. It is safer for both the volunteers and the clients. We hope to have the overhang built by the end of the summer.
In the fall we have two events in the works. On Saturday, September 16, we will host a community barbecue, dubbed The Great Urban Cookout. Three hundred people attended last year. We expect a similar number this year. In October we will be holding a fundraising event, celebrating Harvest on Vine’s 20th anniversary. Date to be announced.
Harvest on Vine has partnered with the City of Boston’s Office of Food Justice, whose goal is to end food insecurity in Boston. Members of OFJ attended two of our distributions and made suggestions on how we can better serve our clients. They see food as a way to build community, and they’ve given us ideas on how to make this happen in Charlestown.
Our volunteers continue to do outstanding work. Their compassionate service transforms each distribution into an act of kindness, an act of solidarity with the poor. Last Saturday, forty volunteers gave out six tons of food (ten pallets) to more than a hundred and fifty families. In addition to our core group, we recently had alumni teams from St. Joseph University and Fairfield University, and students from Malden Catholic and B.C. High.
Our benefactors keep us afloat. We are grateful for your financial gifts. The money you donate gives us the means to purchase the food we distribute. Because of your generosity, we are able to give each family 40-50 pounds of food twice a month. We provide milk, fresh produce, eggs, cheese, fish, chicken, pork, meat, and all the dry goods they can carry. Your donations make this possible.
The Greater Boston Food Bank has designated Harvest on Vine an emergency food pantry. For some of our families, the emergency never ends, thus our need for your support never ends.
Summer is coming and school will be out. As in summers past, we are requesting cereal donations for a cereal drive. If you are able to help out, please drop the boxes of cereal off at the Church before or after the Masses. You can also drop off cereal (or other food donations) at the Parish Office—46 Winthrop Street or at the food pantry on Vine Street.
Thank you.
Tom MacDonald
Social Ministry Director
Harvest on Vine
May 2023 Calendar
49 Vine Street
Friday May 12th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday May 13th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Friday, May 26th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Memorial Day Weekend!
We remember those who gave their lives serving our country
Tuesday, May 30th – 2:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Thursday, May 18th – 1:00 pm – Set-up
(Mishawum Park staff handles the set-up and distribution with HoV.)
Thank you for all that you do!
Tom
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
April 2023 Schedule
49 Vine Street
Thursday (not Good Friday) April 6th – 3:30 pm – Set-up
Saturday April 8th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Monday, April 24th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, April 25th – 2:00 pm – Distribution
Mishawum Park
Wednesday, April 19th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday, April 25th – 1:00 pm – Distribution
(Tom works with the Mishawum Park staff to distribute food.)
Thank you!
Tom
Happy Easter from all of us at
Charlestown Catholic Community
Harvest on Vine
March 2023 Schedule
Friday Mar. 10th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Saturday Mar. 11th – 10:00 am – Distribution
Monday Mar. 27th – 3:00 pm – Set-up
Tuesday Mar. 28th – 2:00 pm – Distribution
Thank you!
Tom
Needs List
Some photos from our early December distribution
Harvest on Vine serves over 300 food insecure families in Charlestown and the surrounding area twice a month. However at Thanksgiving, our support doubles to upwards of 600 families.