B.R.E.A.D., INC

 3803 Old York Road, Gastonia, NC 28056

New applicants may come on Tuesday or Thursday morning from 9-12 and bring your ID with proof of address, plus pay stub/income records for each person in your household with your list of expenses. Only one member per household or address. If you qualify for federal assistance, you qualify for us.

See our latest news below!

We love our new location 3803 Old York Road, Gastonia

Donations always appreciated:

Food:  Food donations welcome! We are grateful for anything you would like to bring! Current food needs are  canned meat or stew, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, eggs, potato flakes, and milk. We do have a source for bread, salads, and drinks.

Clothes, household:  Items in high demand: men's used comfortable shoes,  men's jeans and t-shirts, and backpacks for those who walk or strong carry bags or suitcases that can be pulled on wheels, small tent/tarp for homeless. Clothes most appreciated still on their hangers when possible.

Furniture: There is a high demand for household essentials and small furniture as the homeless find places to stay. We accept donations of clean furniture.

We are open from 9-12 on Tuesday and Thursday. We arrive an hour before and leave an hour after our open times. The best time to bring a donation is before or after we open or after "rush" which is 9-10:30.

Holiday Wish List: Food for holiday meal boxes: Mashed potatoes, stuffing mix, canned vegetables and fruit, yams, soups.

 

October 

A&E cares about their community! 

Families in need in our area have been very blessed by American & Efird. They recently did a food drive and then sent a team to personally serve 80+ families who came for assistance. That boots-on-the-ground caring makes a huge difference! Thanks A&E!

Loads going to Western NC:  We have been sending supplies with several groups to the mountains. Thanks to donations we have been able to send toilet paper, plates, paper towels, trash bags, snacks, water, first aid supplies, children and adult OTC medicines, gloves, sleeping bags, tents, and more. These shipments have gone to churches and donations centers in Mill Springs, Warrensville, Burnsville and Black Mountain.

 

 September

We had lots of fun working with volunteers sent from LNS in Kings Mountain. We enjoy partnering with community-minded businesses. They sent their plant manager and leadership team. They came to serve their community and were willing to pitch in anywhere!  Thanks so much LNS! https://lns-northamerica.com/

 

JULY 

A very creative Vacation Bible School sent us Happy Birthday kits to give to birthday families in need. They included cake mix, frosting, candles, birthday card and other special things including the pan to cook the cake int! What a precious gift!

Belmont's Queen of the Apostles Church has brought food donations for us twice this year. What a big blessing for us! Thanks so much for your big hearts for your community! Thanks so much everybody!

 

Owens Corning put together backpacks for young women that featured needed feminine products and toiletries so that every young woman could have what they needed to feel beautiful. The reactions were very enthusiastic! What a thoughtful service project!  We appreciate your caring blessings!

June

Newell Brands celebrated part of their Community Service Week with us at BREAD! They did a pie-in-the face food drive! The team collecting the most food got to deliver a pie-in-the-face to their manager! Oh the great food they were able to donated from that event! They also brought sleeping bags and and other supplies for our homeless members and helpful items for those just getting housing. Then a team volunteered all morning. We loved having them with us!

 

 April

We had a fascinating sale and raised $781 to helps us with our expenses and food purchasing! We learned a lot and will have lots of merchandise left over to share with our members when they come next week! People who came to the sale filled small bags for $10 or huge bags for $20. Thanks to all who helped before and after!

Just in time a team from LCHE home school group came to help do the heavy-man lifting needed to get ready for our sale. They also moved 2 rooms of stuff to help us get ready to redo the wood floors in the building we are planning to expand into next door! 

March 

Teens get community service hours during Spring break! Just when we needed help preparing for our sale, these youth were ready to go!  You helped us move mountains! Thanks so much!

Regional leaders from Truist came to volunteer! What fun and how helpful! They helped sort hundreds of donations for our yard sale coming up on April 6, organized clothing and helped with packaging. We had a great time. They were lots of fun to work with! Thanks Truist!! https://www.truist.com/

A very generous donor gave us pallets of merchandise for our up coming sale. Proceeds will go to operating expenses and food purchasing. About half of it will be given to our members.

February 2024

Many thanks to Opus Deum Teen Home-School Group! They cleaned clothing racks for the new building, helped prepare the floor, hung up clothes, organized the freezers, fixed Easter baskets moved and organized construction leftovers and more. See all the individual pictures on our facebook page!  What a big blessing!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083988639234 

January 2024! 

BREAD Inc. Receives Grant from SC Johnson!

This funding will help our Start the Year Strong Initiative!

BREAD, Inc. is pleased to announce it has received a grant from SC Johnson to help increase their food purchasing potential in 2024.

This $5,000 grant from SC Johnson will be used to help us stretch our food budget for 2024 to meet the inflationary prices of food.

“We are so grateful to SC Johnson that we can get a boost to our food budget during a time when costs are so high and more families are coming to us for assistance for the same reason. We are seeing the heaviest impact on the elderly and young families with children. What a blessing! This grant will enable us to help so many more than before!”

BREAD, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit group of volunteers that love providing groceries, clothing, household items, toiletries, outerwear and OTC medicines to the financially insecure from our south Gastonia 5k sq. ft. facility.

This $5,000 grant from SC Johnson will enable us to increase our impact!

Thanks loads for your support!

Owens Corning holds pie-in-the-face food drive!

For Martin Luther King Service Day, Owens Corning began a contest to see which group leader could get the most food votes to get pied.  How creative! All the 600+ food blessings came us at BREAD just in time to help us meet the need in cold January! Hurray! Thanks so much to Hope and her team for such a fun event!

December 

Citgo Volunteers! The owners at Citgo down 321 near Black's BBQ came for a volunteer morning, they brought donations and money to purchase food!  We loved their visit and enjoyed getting to know them.  Their station has great prices! Go in and meet them and enjoy their friendly hospitality! Thanks so much!

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner 

We are all volunteers at BREAD. Everyone of our BREAD family is so precious and we love working together to make a difference in our area. This dinner was a chance to honor each one who works so hard all year. See more pictures our volunteer page.

 

Queen of the Apostles Parish in Belmont brought a beautiful load of blessings from their food drive! We are grateful for every one of the caring hearts represented! What a big help when the demand is so high during the holidays.  An average of 200 pre-qualified families are coming for assistance with food and clothes each week this month. 

 November

IFAB is hiring! They are only 2 miles south of us. They brought food collected from each shift and presented us a check to purchase more.  We are so grateful for caring businesses in our area!

Dr. Pate, chiropractor,  from the Elite Spine Center surprises BREAD with bounty from his food drive! 

Jenny's Yoga brings bin of wonderful holiday food! Thanks so much! That's a big blessing!

Bimbo Bakeries Gastonia brought volunteers, 204 loaves of sourdough bread to offer and 150 holiday bags full of holiday food item to give. They also brought a bike and scooter, warm clothes, shoes and  gave away  backpacks for for the homeless! What a huge blessings that was! What a caring bunch. Bimbo bread is right in the middle of making our world a better place! See some of us holding one of their holiday bags. Thanks ever so much! https://www.facebook.com/BimboBakeriesUSA/

Society of St. Andrew provided us with 2,000 pounds of yellow delicious apples! We went to Charlotte and boxed them up. It was a fun fall blessing for our members who have come the last two weeks! Even lots of animals got to enjoy the cracked or bruised up ones! 

October

See our cutest little boys and friends bringing their birthday presents to us! They chose to get food for hungry people instead of toys for their birthday. How beautiful is that! You are looking at statesmen! They also helped pack up snack bags. Wow!

September

Look at our beautiful new door signs! Tamrods Graphics in Gastonia went the extra mile! They donated their time and materials to do our sign work! They printed our sign with the new perforated vinyl that lets you see out as if they are invisible but those outside can't see in. We originally ordered our signs from them. They are located on the same road we are. After they saw the hundreds of people coming for assistance they decided to contribute by doing our signs free. What a blessing! See their work on buildings and vehicles! https://www.facebook.com/tamrodsgraphics/?ref=page_internal 

 

AUGUST

Mann & Hummel Raise $500 with Dunk Tank !

Creative fun is big blessing! The Dunk Tank at their party raised $500 for BREAD! Thanks ever so much everyone! 

 JUNE

Newell Brands has a new facility in Gastonia! They did part of their community service week volunteering with us and bringing in some wonderful overstock items that were a big blessing!

Thanks so much Newell! We had a great time with you!

 

United Methodist youth have community service morning at BREAD.  They were a big help doing bulk packaging, hanging and sorting clothes and learning about how a food bank runs. Great bunch of kids!

APRIL

IGS Energy sent 5 professional volunteers for their service day! We enjoyed having them. What fun! "The POWER to do good!"

 

We have our own TRUCK! Thanks to a grant from SC Johnson, Mann & Hummel and Clariant, we were able to purchase a 16'  box truck for picking up larger and higher pallet donations! We've already maxed out it's capacity many times! It's a huge help  since the numbers of people seeking assistance from us has doubled!

February

Thanks to Owens Corning for your food drive! What a blessing! What a great team! Thanks so much! Their March project included toiletry kits and comfort bags for foster kids. They have been treasures to the kids and homeless members especially have loved the toiletry kits.

We love to share with other ministries, civic groups and schools , too! Need drinks?

 

January

We loved having St. Michaels's students come and helps one morning. They were were eager to help and accomplished a great deal! 

 

December

BREAD Inc. Receives Grant from SC Johnson

This funding will help sponsor the operations of BREAD in January 2023

 (Gastonia, NC  December 2022) BREAD, Inc. is pleased to announce it has received a grant from SC Johnson to sponsor most of their operational costs in January 2023

This $5,000 grant from SC Johnson will be used to cover most of January’s $6,000 operational expenses including all facility costs and food purchasing. No employee costs are involved since we are all volunteers.

 “We are so grateful to SC Johnson that we can start out the year with our major expenses covered! What a blessing! January is a difficult month for the homeless, elderly and low-income families. Thanks to SC Johnson we are ready to help all we can!”

Due to the impact of cold weather, increased utility costs and food prices; our members often face struggles that peak in January. With SC Johnson’s assistance we have been empowered to increase the impact we can make during this, our coldest month.

BREAD, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit group of volunteers that love providing groceries, clothing, household items, toiletries, outerwear and OTC meds to the financially insecure from our south Gastonia 5k sq. ft. facility.

This $5,000 grant from SC Johnson will enable us in 2023 to go beyond our former limitations.

 

So fun! A truck stops by and offers us their unaccepted stock: 1,000 bags of pretzels! We love unexpected blessings from trucking companies and others of overstock food or household items! 

1,000 bags of pretzels!!!!

November

We will be closed Thanksgiving  Day.

See our cutest baby baggers. They wanted to help, worked hard, & packed a whole bin full of chips!

 

October 

A&E, American & Efird raised $100 for BREAD in their shift "change" promotion! YES! They are hiring! Each shift collected their spare change and shared the love with us! We got a bag of coins to spend on food for the need in our area. What a blessing!

Great creativity Mann & Hummel! Thanks for all the caring hearts who pitched in and gave what they could to bless others. May each of you be richly blessed!

 

September 

We have extra flamin' hot Mountain Dew to share with your organization! We partner with several groups who serve those in need, but we are also sometimes able to share with schools and larger groups for promotions and events! Promote your team with give aways!  "Our team is "flamin' hot!

July

Thanks to Owens Corning for their creative community service project! They made 300 special toiletries bags for the homeless and families in need. They were a big hit, filled with goodies and so well done! There's a company with a big heart! 

May

We have new landscaping! We are so grateful to donors Jay and Keith, Visionary volunteers Tom and Nancy, and extra dirt and gravel donations from SITE ONE! We all pitched in to dig and plant, and the results were wonderful!  

Small furniture and household essentials needed

We have started accepting small furniture and  household items. We have received donations of two house fulls. The furniture has already gone to help 3 homeless and 1 family that had nothing to get started.  We also partner with other organizations helping the homeless who have found housing when we have extra furniture.

 

APRIL

We have a walk-in cooler! It's been a dream for years to have one! Thanks to a donation from Ron Duncan and Your Equipment Guys we have a place to keep a huge amount of summer veggies, salads, dairy and refrigerated donations! How exciting for us and what a blessing. We love increasing our capacity to serve!

FEBRUARY

Big thanks to the generous hearts at Queen of the Apostles Parish who brought in two pick up trucks of food they collected for us to meet the needs of the community with. We are grateful for their caring thoughtfulness! Thanks Vin and Tom for bringing it over!

DECEMBER 

Creative WOW! Christmas gift from Colony Ridge HOA! Carolyn Dewalt organized a baking bag project. She collected 41 bags and brought them to BREAD to give away. She and her husband had lots of fun presenting her neighborhood's generous gifts to the families who came on Tuesday. See all the goodies they packed in the bags!

NOVEMBER

Many thanks to all the families who brought food to help other families have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Gaston county just may be the most generous county of all.

Wow! Piedmont Community Charter School Middle School broke this years donation record by gathering 4000 food items for BREAD just in time for the holidays! Never doubt what young people can do! Boxes and bags kept coming and coming. Felt like Christmas!

The clerk of court's office brought canned meats, and all sorts of Thanksgiving items to make our boxes special for those who come next week. Living in a community that cares and shares the love God put inside us, can make all the difference for ones who are going through hard times during the Holidays.

 

Big thanks to CMC Rebar of Gastonia! Their 65 employees collected 200lbs of food for us to share with those in need over the Holidays! See part of it in the picture! We enjoyed meeting 4 of their great bunch: Lisa, Lori, Crystal and Aaron! What a big blessing!

 

October

Thank you Kings Mountain Energy Center for your creative donation of servicing our forklift. It needed some hefty repairs and servicing. We were so blessed to receive this thoughtful gift! Thanks to Dustin with G&W Equipment for doing such a great job!

September 

Advance Drainage Systems brought by food donations and a check to help us with our expenses as we work hard to open our doors. How thoughtful and what a big blessing!  Companies that bless their communities DO make a big difference!

We are getting  cement floors ground down and painted. Office are getting flooring, walls painted, lighting and electricity set up. Almost ready! We are excited!

AUGUST

Moving day ! August 21! Our investors have purchased this facility to rent to us and we will be able to make it our own. As soon as we meet all the city requirements, applications and permits we will have our Grand Opening. There are many projects to complete before we can open, so if you can spare some extra time and are a good fix it, paint it, nail it, or help-some-how person please send us an email or call and let us know! We would be very grateful~ !

 

New SC Johnson Grant Helps BREAD!

We’re pleased to announce a boost to our Moving and Start up Project in the form of a grant from the consumer products company SC Johnson.

This $40,000 grant will be used to help us pay for transitioning to our larger facility, meet all the code and county requirements, as well as help us through the extra operating expenses of the first year.  The building we had leased for over a decade sold in April. We were already at the place of outgrowing that space.  This grant came at the perfect time to help make it possible for us to accept the challenge of choosing the larger space, bringing it up to code and functioning requirements, as well as taking on the increased expense of a building that’s 50% larger.

 We hope to keep most of our current clients while expanding services to meet needs in the south Gastonia area. Our larger facility will enable us to increase the quantity of people served as well as expanding our ability to provide food for area groups and ministries that reach out with solutions for the abused, addicted, homeless, jobless, elderly, single moms, struggling families, etc.

SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates.

Based in the USA, the company is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE ® , KIWI ® , OFF! ® , PLEDGE ® , RAID ® , SCRUBBING BUBBLES ® , SHOUT ® , WINDEX ® and ZIPLOC ® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN ® , BAYGON ® , BRISE ® , KABIKILLER ® , KLEAR ® , MR MUSCLE ® and RIDSECT ® .

 The 134-year-old company employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com

We at BREAD are so grateful to SC Johnson for this big blessing!

July

We have sad news. Our retired volunteer with many years of service and leadership, Jim Brackett, has passed away this week. His services and information is available at the link below. He will be dearly missed. Love and hugs to his wife Linda as she goes through this difficult time.

https://www.siskbutler.com/obituary/James-Brackett

 

 

The police came by and dropped of 2,000 pounds of food to give away! How grateful we are to Lowell Police Department for your food raiser and contribution!

Wow! Thanks to Owens Corning in Dallas! They got together, under the leadership of Lindsay Drake and made 300 hygiene bags to help those in need this summer. The bags they loaded are back packs to make them easy to carry.  They are filled goodies like tooth paste and brush, shampoo and conditioner, brush, razor, tissues, clippers, chap stick, soap and dish, toothbrush  holder, and lots more. How creative and what a blessing! 

One of our members is quite a poet!

 

Enjoyed having a group from ARP Church come to volunteer! They were full of enthusiasm and willing to help.  They accomplished all sorts of projects and we are very grateful! See the fun!

June

The amount of clients coming weekly is increasing. We are back to our numbers of about 50/day. During times of stimulus and tax refund the need decreases somewhat. Thanks for your support!

We are still running strong at our current location and ready to serve! 

MARCH 

  In memory  of our founder, Dorothy Lowery.

We received the news that our president, Dorothy Lowery transitioned to heaven Friday afternoon March 12, 2021 at 94 years old. She has been the president for over 25 years, had a big caring heart for those in need in the greater Gaston County area, and faithfully served even through difficult times in her own life. When she was in her 60's,the doctor told her heart could give out any minute. He told her to take it easy,  but she chose to keep on going.  Thousands of people have been blessed as a result. She will be dearly missed by those who volunteered with her, by those who knew her and by those who were blessed by her love and caring through the years.  She was like a mom to many of us. See tributes and pictures here: https://www.siskbutler.com/obituary/RevDorothy-Lowery

 

Thanks to the State Employees Association District 9 for your support and thoughtful visit. We enjoyed meeting you! 

Donation matching

When donations to BREAD are made through  the Community Foundation, matching funds (often around an extra 35%) will be applied to your donation. It's all part of the Community Foundation Run to help boost area non-profits. Participate in the virtual run and enjoy the event! Good til April 20.  Community Foundation Run and donation details.

Grandmaster Pang and the students at Taekwando/Hapkido Academy gathered boxes of food and supplies to help those in need in their community. We honor their thoughtful generosity and kindness!  See more of what they do at: www.pangstkd.com

 

Renee and Penny use their talents at home to do something wonderful.  They make warm scarves for our clients that need them. "We want to give people a warm hug. It's something we can do." How loving and creative. In their special way, they are making the world a better place. Thanks so much!

 

January:

Thank so much to each and every one of you who have, cared shared, and given of your time and resources to help us make a difference in Gaston County. We are so grateful for you! See a few pictures of recent blessings!

Owens Corning food drive!

Partners sent volunteers!

Fresh Dental donation!

Knights of Columbus Food drive!

 

 

 

 

 2021!  Happy New Year!

 *********************

It's with sad hearts we began the new year at BREAD. One of our BREAD family, Bobby Kelly passed away during the holidays. We miss him so much. We honor his memory and are so grateful for the time we had with him. He had a big heart and would do anything for you. He spent his last months with us, serving those in need. Cherish every day. Tell someone how much they mean to you. You never know when it will be your last chance.

2020    Serving an average of 120 clients/week. 

We are now closed til January 5. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and may God richly bless you every one!

December Christmas distribution week served about 170! 

Special thanks to our December donors. We are so blessed to be a part of such a caring community. Everyone that pitches in to help makes a big difference! Here are pictures of a few.

Smoothie King promotion photo. See our smiles?

Donation of Warm Clothes from Bessemer City Church of God!

Food Drive from Smart Kids $5 Daycare! Miss Minnie, Miss Ella pictured. Thanks so much!

This Thanksgiving we would like to thank those who secretly give, who never get the public  recognition but who so bless us so much here a little and there a little. May God bless you every one! When we pull together we can solve huge problems!

November Thanksgiving distribution week served about 175!

Smoothie King came to visit and brought us smoothies! They took a tour and are running a food drive for BREAD. Bring in 3 cans and you'll get a bonus $1 off a 32 oz smoothie! 2230 E. Franklin BLVD., Gastonia. Thanks for your delicious ideas!

Thanks ADS (Advanced Drainage Systems) of Bessemer City for your thoughtful care for your community! They brought wonderful food supplies and gave us a check early to help with our special holiday purchases! How wonderful! And yes, they are hiring! 

 

************************

Dry Pro is a company with a big heart! Even though this is a difficult time for businesses, Dry Pro reached out with a generous donation to BREAD so that they can help those who are really stressed right now.

Dry Pro is a company in Belmont of waterproofing and foundation specialists that use new and innovative methods to restore driveways, crawlspaces, basements and foundations. See their before and after pages! https://www.dryprosystems.com/about-us/before-and-after.html

 

 

We are open! 4/21 and beyond! (Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9-12).  You are loved. Cherish every day! 

Some of our volunteers enjoying what they do!

 We are open this week April 7-9 on Tuesday and Thursday morning as usual. We have many new precautions and safety measures in place. We have temporary quarantine client memberships for those who need it during this time. Do not be afraid. Be loved. Be hopeful. Expect great things! We will come through this together.

  Health procedures update (we are open)

We are taking extra precautions to keep our clients and volunteers safe and healthy in the coming few weeks. 

• Shopping carts will be disinfected after each use
• More food/drink choices will be handled for you rather than touched by every one 
• Clothing will not be available except in cases of great need and then they will be selected for you. 
• Check in procedures will change to protect volunteers
• Temporary membership cards will be available for those needing assistance just to get through this time of work and school closings.
  
  May you and your family be richly blessed, protected, and grow in closeness during this unusual time.  You are loved  and so precious! We pray that you will be careful, thoughtful of others and free from fear. May the Lord bless you and keep you and give you His peace.

February

Go Owens-Corning volunteers! They put together and packaged 22,300 servings of Cheesy Vegetable rice to bless families in their own community. They used the program, “Feed the Funnel” for their meal packing event. For two hours, volunteers manned stations combining rice, cheese, dried veggies, and seasonings in sealable foil pouches that would provide 8 servings of each. This event was made even more exciting by high-energy music, team spirit and an astounding goal that they reached and exceeded! 22,000 servings! What a great addition these pouches will be to the food boxes we provide our clients! 150-200 clients come to BREAD each week to get help with food for their families. These pouches will go a long way to help those struggling to make ends meet! Thanks every so much Owens-Corning for your community-minded spirit and caring hearts! https://www.owenscorning.com

 

January 2020

Thanks Smart Kids Development Center #5 for your food drive. Beautiful children caring about their community is so sweet!  See our picture of Wanda Wilson, Director and Minnie Barnes, Lead Teacher.  You all blessed us with lots of great canned food that we will enjoy giving to those who need it! You are a blessing!

 
Victoria and her co-worker at Support Day Treatment High School Classroom spear headed a food drive for us. It was beautiful to see how their teens were so eager to help and bless others! See their poster behind them.

                                                *******

Hooray, it's December! B.R.E.A.D. will receive a $1 donation for every $2.50 Community Bag sold in December at BI-LO 2601 South New Hope Road, Gastonia NC.

 

Thanks to Cramerton Middle School and their Food drive! How wonderful to get boxes and boxes of canned food as we get ready for December!. Canned food is what we always seem to be the lowest on, so this was a huge blessing to us! To all the students who gave and collected food we say a big and strong, "Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts!" And love to you all!

 

Today the Steve Harvey Morning Show presented us with 50 vouchers for a Thanksgiving turkey to give to families in need. That's caring in action! How thoughtful! Thanks V101.9! https://news.radio-online.com/…/Premiere-Steve-Harvey-Celeb 

Security System  Donation!

Peak Communications out of Charlotte heard out our president's car being stolen and they opened their hearts to bless us. Now we have cameras and a security system custom made to meet our needs, all expenses paid. What a beautiful gift. If you want to find a company to take care of your business

• Data/ low voltage cabling
• Electrical
• POS
• CCTV
• A/V
• Paging
• Cloud Phone Systems/Internet

needs that are honest and have hearts of gold. This is the place!  Thanks guys ever so much from all of us at BREAD! https://www.peakcommnc.net/

 Volunteering is rewarding! We have a few slots open for Tuesday and Thursday morning volunteers! Thanks to Mazda Gastonia for this infographic!  https://www.mazdaofgastonia.com/ 

 

Large youth group does spring cleaning,sorting and stocking for us at BREAD. Even on a rainy night they came out to serve in their community. Penny Funderburk and other youth leaders brought their young people from the Gastonia Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They sorted clothes for us and moved pallets, cleaned, swept, mopped, stocked and helped everywhere. We are so grateful for their help and willing hands! They got a huge amount done for us tonight!

Food bank president gets car stolen. 

Our president, Dorothy Lowery is 92. A few weeks ago her car was stolen at the food bank. Two guys came by when she was there and begged for some food saying they were hungry. She fed them and gave them some clothes. One of them saw her car keys and took off with her car. Her purse, keys, cards, and money were in the trunk. The car was later found in Shelby in much worse condition.  This experience has been very difficult for her. She has given her whole retirement to care for others and now we'd love to give her some encouragement. If you could send a little note, it would mean a lot to her. If she has ever blessed you, it would be a great time for her to hear that. We would love to present her with a stack of uplifting mail. You could send it to Dorothy Lowery, BREAD, Inc. 161b W. Franklin BLVD, Gastonia, NC 28052. See the news broadcast at the link below.

 https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/2-men-distract-92-year-old-food-bank-owner-steal-car/953401970

One of our former volunteers and wife of Jimmy Clark, our vice-president has passed away. We send our love and hugs! Services are Sunday, May 15. See all the details at the link below.

 

https://memorials.asimpleservice.com/deborah-clark/3845863/index.php?fbclid=IwAR2gXc_Y0poWwBVarTAhAel3rDcGo_xxWOqzrQRv_Qog3c52D5DStV8fiuA

 

Thank you Save-a-lot and your Spring Forward Give Back program! We received bags of canned food (that we need most) to help us fill our grocery boxes! Some of the bags were signed by the loving hearts that donated them. Thanks everyone! What a blessing.Save-a-lot has great prices if you've never checked them out!

https://savealot.com/

Come see us at booth 32 at the Community Foundation Run Saturday April 11! Lots of booths and give-aways. 5K run, 2k walk, Junior Truck Fest, Healthy Kids Zone, lots of music and festivities. Run proceeds go to match funds to help area non-profits. Donations made to the Community Foundation by April 19 for your favorite non-profit are matched at about 40%. It's not too late to be a runner!

http://www.cfgaston.org/Learn/CommunityFoundationRun.aspx

Creative fundraiser at Truliant Federal Credit union in McAdenville is a big blessing! 

In December Truliant simply collected change by rounding up transactions from customers willing to donate. We were chosen to receive their blessing! A few days ago they presented us with a check! There are so many little ways we can help each other make the world a better place! Thank you for your thoughtfulness Truiliant!

Plus donations from now til April  20 are turned to to receive match funds from The Community Foundation Run!

https://www.truliantfcu.org/Ways-to-Bank/Branch-ATM-Locations/North-Carolina-Branch-Locations/McAdenville-Branch

 

Thank you Cracker Barrel for caring so much about your community! Canned food is what we almost always need the most! You are a blessing! https://www.facebook.com/crackerbarrel.gastonia/

 

Our lively president, Dorothy Lowery, turned 92 today! We call her Sister Lowery or Mama Lowery because we all feel like part of her family. We wish her decades more of vitality and full life! She has given a huge part of her life to bless others and help those in need! We celebrated at Grandma Hoyts in Bessemer City.

Birthday girl with Oleeta her oldest volunteer at 85

Sister Lowery with Linda

Dolores gives honor speech.

Birthday love and hugs!

 

Talent Force brings donation to start off the new year with a blessing! Thanks for caring so much about your community! 

https://www.facebook.com/Bread-Inc-435433573149542/

2018

We will be CLOSED Christmas week and New Year's Week.
Merry Christmas to you and may God bless us every one!

B.R.E.A.D., Inc. Holiday Schedule

300 Thanksgiving boxes prep:

Dates: November 11, 16

300 Christmas boxes prep:

Dates: December 13, 18

Items needed include:

·       Mac N  Cheese

·       Boxed Mashed potatoes

·       Canned veggies and fruit

·       Stuffing mix

·       Cranberry sauce

·       Boxed dessert mix

Contact us to volunteer or donate:  (704) 854 9221  or (704) 308 0096

Our preparation for Christmas holiday boxes begins!
Trinity Assembly of God in Bessemer City opened their hearts and poured us out a blessing. They brought over 600 pairs of warms socks, a stack of warm coats, some gloves and scarves plus they collected  food items and funds for our Christmas food boxes. (more details on facebook).  A big thanks goes to some really big hearts!

Our Thanksgiving distribution went beautifully. Thank you so much to EVERYONE who helped make it possible~!

Here are some area groups that have collected food/money for our Thanksgiving boxes. Thanks so much everybody! See their stories on our facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/Bread-Inc-435433573149542/

Fresh Dental Gastonia

Carolina Kids Club

Owens Corning Dallas

 

Advantage Drainage Systems, Bessemer City

And special thanks to Opus Deum High School group who packed 104 Holiday boxes for us!

One group is collecting socks and gloves for us to give to those who have none in the cold weather. Any warm items like coats, sweaters, warm shoes, boots, scarves, blankets, and toiletries are always welcome.

August:

A brother/sister school project turned out to be a great blessing for us. Our packers for chips and crackers were out for Tuesday. They came at the perfect time to fill in. Their hard work resulted in a mountain of supply ready to go and they even restocked our chip room. They were sweet, enthusiastic, and did an AMAZING job! Thanks so much!

 

We are closed for the 4th of July week.  We hope you all have a wonderful time of celebration and family!

Last week this time we had no one to represent BREAD in our 5K Run. Our runner got sick. The community-caring folks at Advanced Drainage Systems rounded up 2 runners for us last minute! The richest people in the world are the ones who have friends! Pictured below are Liam Facer, Katie Facer (cheering mom) and Brandon Bridges. Thanks ever so much ADS!

 

 

We had a winner in the Community Foundation Run. Derek Widenhouse, a last-minute volunteer runner, came in first in his age category for men 60-64. He ran the 5k in 23 minutes 48 seconds. He won $250 for BREAD, Inc. Hurray! Thanks Derek!

 

Come see us Saturday morning April 14 at our booth at the 5K Community Foundation Run benefiting local non-profits! We will have goodies to share and will love to meet you!                          

http://www.cfgaston.org/Learn/CommunityFoundationRun.aspx

 

 

 

 

We will be closed 1/18 due to snow!!!

Our president turned 91 and she's still going strong! Happy Birthday "Sister" "Mama" Dorothy Lowery! 

She believes giving is living. She has defied medical diagnosis and doctors consider her a walking miracle.

2017

DECEMBER:

We are CLOSED Christmas Week and New Year's Week. We will re-open January 9 and  11.

Thank you to all those who brought and collected food to help us have special Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes. We were able to purchase hams to go with each of the 225 boxes we gave out at Christmas time and the 275 boxes we gave out at Thanksgiving to our clients in need.

Thank you Aetna for the boxes your collected and brought in!

NOVEMBER:

Thank you to 2 day care classrooms that collected food and came to help us fill Thanksgiving boxes for the hungry in their community!

 

 We would like to honor the memory of Terry Reid, a faithful volunteer and wonderful friend to all. He was well loved and a big blessing. He will be deeply missed. We send our love to his family. Services will he held Monday, Nov. 20 at McCleans in Gastonia, NC. Receiving friends is at 11-12 with services following.

 

Howie and friends from CATO Rentals in Bessemer City brought great food items for our Thanksgiving boxes today from their food drive! Thanks too, to those who contributed funds to help keep us going! What fun! Everyone loved having Howie drop in! Great timing, we were packing a total of 300 special holiday boxes!

 

Try Life of Pie's delicious downtown pizza and support food drive with coupon!

 

OCTOBER: 

See our article in Gaston Alive! It's about what we do and our president Dorothy Lowery who is ...drum roll, please.... 90 years old!  

http://gastonalive.com/2017/10/local-food-bank-feeds-the-community-with-b-r-e-a-d/

Food drive for 200+ Thanksgiving boxes

Items needed include: Canned corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, Boxed mashed potatoes, Mac n Cheese, stuffing, cranberry sauce, canned ham or $5 donation for buffet ham.

These can be dropped off at our location on  Tues/Thursday mornings or at the OCT 21 Fall Festival. Distribution of these boxes will be the week before Thanksgiving. We are closed Thanksgiving week.  Any extra items we receive will be used for our Christmas boxes. Thanks ever so much for thinking of us! 

OCTOBER 21: Fall Festival downtown Gastonia

Come and see us there! 90 vendors, candy stations for the kids, abundant door prizes, activities and fun!  Costume contest, Pumpkin cook-off.  (Also drop off location for food donations!)

 

Creative Fund Raiser, ADS Advance name in Drainage Systems

ADS has a plant in Bessemer City. They sold candy. The proceeds were put in jars under the pictures of various managers. The manager that got the most money in their jar would get the dunk tank. Several workers got together to dunk a certain manager. They called it Operation Floatee.  They brought popular food items and proceeds that we will use to purchase any extra items needed for our Holiday boxes. Thank you ADS and Lori (one cold, wet, dunked manager on October 20).

September:  

Thanks to the 60+ good hearts that work in the clerk of court's office here. We received a trunk load of blessings to help us fill our food boxes with extra delicious things. We are grateful for all your care and support! 

Kia of Gastonia is holding a canned food drive for BREAD!

 

Come and join us Oct. 21 at Gastonia's fall festival!

August:  

Creative Campaign!

Many thanks to Max Gun Worx in Gastonia for their creative campaign. They brought 288 cans of food plus school supplies for us to share with our clients in need. When you purchase a gun online and have it shipped to Max Gun Worx near us on W. Franklin Blvd. you can bring cans as partial payment of your transfer fee. https://www.macgunworx.net/

Fork Lift!

Exciting news for us! We have a new used fork lift! So you won't see it on our wish list any more. We have been saving for this and thanks to a few unexpected donations we can now unload pallets and move them around in our warehouse safely and securely. 

Final Good deed from Girl  Scout Troop 20638

This girl scout troop has helped us in various ways through the years, with can drives and coming to help us on site. Well, they grew up and their troop decided that with their last funds they would help those in need in our community and presented us with a check delivered by their director. What a thoughtful and caring group of fine young women! Thanks ever so much!

May:

We are closed Memorial Day WEEK.  This gives us a chance to restock and get a rest. Thanks! 

Thanks to Walmart for surprising us with $900 worth of food to help us take care of those in need! We are grateful for their community-minded staff. What a great bunch!

 Jovan Sheshbaradaran is just 15 and started his own can drive through his church to help those in need in his community. He collected about 250 cans of food and brought it to us to help us provide food to our clients. What a fine young man! That's what we call initiative!

April: We provided food 618 times this month.

We will be closed for Spring Break on April 18 and 20.

Thank you MAX GUN WORX, Gastonia for 250 food items in your promotion of cutting their gun transfer fees in half when food items are donated.

 

 

 

 Robert Webb (Rocky Top) former country western singer and song writer, ran the 5K race representing BREAD. The amazing part is that after a motorcycle wreck that sent him through the back and front windshields of a car and the back and front door of the business behind the car, a year in the hospital, filled with rods, bolts and screws, and told he would never walk; that he could run at all! He did the run in about 45 minutes. He's what we call an overcomer! He also volunteers for BREAD when he has free time! 

  March:  We provided food 990 times this month.

 

February: Provided food 1170 times.

Financial donations in February, March and April will be matched by the Community Foundation Run Proceeds at about 35-40%.  Looking for fast runners in all age categories for the 5k competition to represent us at BREAD.

http://www.cfgaston.org/Learn/CommunityFoundationRun.aspx

 

  January: Provided food 1235 times this month.

January 10 is the 90th birthday of our president and founder, Dorothy Lowery! We call her Mama Lowery and Sister Lowery, she has a hug for everyone. She has given the last 20 years of her life to help provide food for those in need. Years ago the doctors told her to stop everything and take it easy, with congestive heart failure she could drop dead any minute. But she decided to keep going. She believes giving is living! If you have a story to share about knowing her or a message you'd like to put in her birthday book, please email us!

2016

December: Provided food 909 times this  month.

We are CLOSED the last two weeks of December and we re-open January 3.   

Thank you to several families and businesses that brought food items from our wish list and warm clothes to share! Our Christmas boxes were filled because of your gifts. 

Max Gun Worx brought in 220 food items and are continuing their promotion of cutting their gun transfer fees in half when food items are donated. (See November notes)

G Town Disc Golf Club brought food collected at their events

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GTownDGC/

Gaston Clerk of Superior Courts office brought food.

United Site Services brought 150 lb canned food.

Support Inc. High School Class brought in canned food. 

A Charlotte service group named SALT (high school home schooled students) volunteered today and packed the 120 boxes we will be giving out on Thursday. Each box has about 20 items. It usually takes us about 4 hours pack that much and we are tired after a full morning of serving the public. This active bunch came in and got it all done in an hour and a half. Wow! What a blessing!
Thanks SALT! Keep pouring out your energy and giving spirit! We sure appreciate you!

 

After preparing special Thanksgiving boxes our supplies were really low for Christmas boxes. The gifts of each of these groups and those who have helped us financially came just in time for us to prepare 300 Christmas boxes for our clients. We are grateful for each one of you!

November: Provided food 915 times.

Thanks to Mac Gun Worx! This creative, community-minded local business cuts their $20 gun transfer fees in half when customers donate food items for our food bank! They offer concealed carry classes as well. Check out their business! Tiftfany brought 130 food items that arrived at the perfect time to put in our 300 Thanksgiving boxes. See Tiffany below with our president Dorothy Lowery.
https://www.facebook.com/Mac-Gun-Worx-371826582850406/…

 

October: Groceries provided 1037 times for 3573 family members.

Thanks to Elected Gaston County Clerk of Superior Court, the Honorable Lawrence Brown Jr.! His offices held their annual BBQ and sent the profits to BREAD, Inc. to help us take care of families in need!

Thanks to the Teen Service Group at Grace Christian Academy who came used their time and talents to help us get all sorts of work done! Great bunch!

Gastonia's Zombie Walk, OCTOBER 1 is collecting canned food for Bread, Inc. to help us provide food for struggling needy families in Gaston County (mostly in the downtown Gastonia area).  We are thankful for their thoughtful generosity!

https://www.facebook.com/GastoniaZombieWalk

*****

Thank you to Advance Drainage Systems for collecting food and donations for us!  This time of year donations are especially appreciated as we prepare extra supplies for our Holiday food boxes and bring in winter supply needs.  We are grateful for you ADS! From pie eating, throwing and other fun fundraisers they raised $582 to help us care for families in need!

http://www.ads-pipe.com/en/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Advanced-Drainage-Systems/153161381365461

September: Groceries provided 896 times (for 2572 family members)

United Way contributors in Gaston County can now select BREAD, Inc. as an organization to receive funds. We are now a part of Donors Choice, giving givers more options to designate where they want their financial gifts to go! 

******

Thanks to District Attorney Locke Bell and his bees!

Our district Attorney has been selling the honey from his bees and saving the profits for BREAD, Inc. So really his bees are helping us feed the homeless, elderly, jobless and struggling families. How's that for some unique giving! We appreciate  the creativity, resourcefulness and giving heart of Locke Bell!

 

July: Groceries provided 826 times this month.

June: Groceries provided 1069 times this month.

May: Groceries provided 1062 times this month. 

April: Groceries provided 833 times this month.

We would like to honor the memory of our former volunteer Shirley who passed away this month. She was a retired school teacher in Gaston County and had a great love for children and education. After retiring from teaching, Shirley volunteered with us at B.R.E.A.D., Inc.  We are so grateful for her loving service to help those in need!

Shirley Wilson Stacy Woody

**********************************************

Community Foundation Run 2016

Donations made to B.R.E.A.D., Inc. at the Community Foundation of Gaston County website will be matched by a percentage of the proceeds from the 2016 Community Foundation 5K run on April 16! Last year donations were matched by about 40%.

If you like to run the prizes are great! Top runner receives $1000. Runners in various age categories receive $300/$150. Here are the links!

Come out to the pavilion on run day April 16 and visit our booth! Lots of morning activities for the family.

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/cfrun2016

https://www.sportoften.com/event/28913/the-community-foundation-run-2016

March: Groceries supplied 860 times this month.

February: Groceries supplied 870 times this month.

 

January: Groceries supplied 1063 times this month.

January 26. ICE! We are closed today because of the ice in our driveway and serving area. If you were supposed to come on Tuesday you may come on Thursday for service. Thank you!

Happy Birthday  "Sister" Lowery! She turned 89 this month!

She's still at the helm of the ship at BREAD and leading the way. She believes giving and loving keeps her young. Her life supports that theory! We are grateful for all she does!

 

 

 

 2015: Groceries supplied 11,236 times this year.

DECEMBER: We will be closed Christmas week and New Year's Week.

Thank you CARMAX! They did a food drive for us! What a welcome time. After our Christmas box distribution of 200+ boxes of food and 100 boxes prepared for children last Saturday we are grateful for this boost to our supply! We are grateful for your thoughtfulness and care for your community! See the picture with Jen and the trunk load of food they collected!

We'd like to invite you to a Giving Event hosted in the gym of First United Methodist Church in downtown Gastonia, Thursday night, December 3 from 5-8. Area non-profits that serve the community will be featured all in an all-out Bethlehem setting with music and festivities. The opportunity is to go "shopping to give" and participate in the real spirit of Christmas. When you give to the least of these you give to me, Jesus said.  A light supper is provided for $2. There are kids activities and more.

NOVEMBER: We provided food to clients 894 times representing 2254 family members.

We were closed the week of Thanksgiving.

Thanks to your donations we provided hams and Thanksgiving meal fixings to the first 100 clients on Tuesday and the first 100 on Thursday. After that the other families got regular food boxes. We helped over 380 families this week! We had a record week serving 360 clients.

OCTOBER: We provided food to clients 1250 times representing 3150 family members.

October 3! Gastonia's Zombie Walk/Fall Festival features a can drive for BREAD! We are grateful for your support Gastonia! Thanks so much! Saturday from 1-8pm: Downtown Gastonia

http://www.downtowngastonia.com/event/4th-annual-zombie-walk-food-drive-2/

SEPTEMBER: Clients served 1013 times representing 2596 family members.

We are closed Labor DAY week September 7-11. We will re-open Sept. 15, and 17.

Last week was record breaking! We are seeing a big increase of need and new applications. One segment we serve are those who are in need due to medical problems and high medical expenses. They come in with walkers, oxygen, right after surgery, stroke victims, and some that can barely walk. Thank you for helping us help them!

AUGUST: Clients served 1145 times representing 2919 family members

This summer the need has continued to increase. High power bills, due to the heat, have stressed families who have their children at home while school is out. The number of new applicants is higher than expected and continues to surprise us.
Our hearts really go out to the homeless families we see, especially when children are involved. It is a privilege for us to be able to do what we can to help make life a little easier when people are going through hard times.  Thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts.

JULY: Clients served 868 times representing 2184 family members

We will be closed the 7th and the 9th for the 4th of July holiday. We will reopen on the 14th. Thank you!

JUNE: Clients served 1263 times representing 2915 members

MAY: Clients served 776 times representing 1899 family members

Thanks to the G.I. Janes Roller Derby event at Kate's Skate on Mother's Day at 6pm. Everyone who brings food donations for BREAD to the event will be entered into the drawing for Mother's Day prizes. We appreciate their community minded spirit!
http://www.gijanesrollerderby.com/home.html

APRIL: Clients served 1068 times representing 2076 family members 

We've had the most unique donations recently! It's so much fun. Cases of Greek Yogurt, 400 pounds of cabbage and clearance chocolate. Our clients have really enjoyed the unique additions to what they normally get. What a big blessing!
Thank you all for your thoughtfulness and support! 

APRIL 7 and 9 we will be closed for Spring Break. See you on the 14th!

March: Clients served 1068 times representing 2468 family members

Our new card system is up and running well. If you are a client and do not have a new card it will take a little extra time to get you set up in the new system but after that things will go more quickly when you come in.

February: Clients served 443 times representing 1041 family members

We will be closed today Tuesday February 24 due to snow. We hope to open on Thursday.
We will be closed on Tuesday February 17 due to bad weather (snow and ice).

Donations to BREAD during February, March and April can be made at the Community Foundation Website and those donations will be matched between 30 and 40%! https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CommunityFoundationRun2015/donate
Choose BREAD, Inc. as your organization supported and thanks so much!

January: Clients served 898 times representing 1937 family members

Happy 88th Birthday to our President, Dorothy Lowery! (Jan. 10)Years ago her Dr. gave her zero life expectancy because of  her heart problems. But her heart has been given to those in need and she's lived long and keeps on going. This week she ran the front desk! Today 88 clients at BREAD braved the freezing temperatures to get food to help their families. Our address is BREAD, Inc. 161b W. Franklin, BLVD, Gastonia, NC. She would love to have a little note from you.

2014

December

Retiring office volunteers: Linda, Jim and Teri. What a gift of years and love they have given to those in need through BREAD, Inc. They are loved and will be SO missed! They used their gifts with excellence and were a huge blessing to us! They may come back a few times if we get in a pinch, because they are kind like that. We wish them a well as they enjoy their retirement.

Generous idea! The McIlveen Family Law Team decided that in lieu of sending out holiday cards to their clients, they would donate the funds to feed local families in need thru BREAD. We wish their clients could know about this wonderful gift! Thank you and may your business be richly blessed! http://www.mcilveenfamilylaw.com/

Belk Associates came to Volunteer at Bread today. We LOVED having them. It was part of BAG (Belk Associates Give). They helped in many places, the office, the food packing room and were a big help getting our Christmas Dinner Boxes ready for distribution next week. Special thanks to Aundrea McCadams, store manager; Travis Pence, manager of Children's Department; Amanda Crosby, Loss Prevention Manager; Linda Holland, HR; and Lisa Ferraro, Visual Manager! 

November

We are CLOSED Thanksgiving week. God bless you and your families one and all!

A great community service project! Help us collect the fixings for a Christmas dinner for 500 of our clients. We need
Mashed potatoes (boxed), Canned green beans and corn, Stuffing mix, Cranberry sauce, boxed dessert, and canned or frozen meat. Or maybe help one family as a family by collecting enough for one box. Thank you for your heart for others!

October

The Downtown Gastonia Zombie Walk incorporated a can drive that brought in 1700 food items that were split between us and Salvation Army. Thank you to everyone who donated cans and food items during this event! We were blessed by a variety of foods that will help us provide a more nutritious selection to our clients! Most of our donations are boxed starches and sweets so canned vegetables, fruit and protein and a great blessing!

September: Groceries or snacks and drinks provided 1, 110 times!

Mark your calendar for the October 4 Zombie Walk and Food Drive in down town Gastonia (if you dare). The food gathered will benefit us and the Salvation Army. https://www.facebook.com/GastoniaZombieWalk

Yard Sale: On the 25th we offered a "yard sale" to our clients (who came to pick up food) from donated items that we had received and stored until we had enough for an event. Everything, no matter how valuable, was offered for .25. We raised $55 to put towards our rent and our clients (or anyone who happened by) were able to receive a lot of great deals!
Our next sale will be October 9. We welcome donations of yard sale items before that event.

August: Groceries or snacks and drinks provided 1,222 times this month!

Unique idea! Bradley Memorial Methodist Church offered 5 $50 envelopes to groups in their congregation who would match the funds and decide on a group in the community to help, not only with the money, but with their expertise and time. One of the groups chose BREAD, Inc. They came and toured our facility, came up with some good ideas and spent their money to bring us cases and cases of canned food which is what we most need. We are so grateful! www.Bradleymemorialumc.org/

H&R Block hosted a published yard sale with 10% of the proceeds going to help feed the hungry thru BREAD, Inc.
What a blessing. Thank you H&R Block for being so community minded! http://www.hrblock.com/tax-offices/tax-pro-finder.html?officeid=32000&action=tpbyoffice Sandy Long, Senior Tax Advisor

July: Groceries or Snacks and drinks provided 1,263 times to families representing 3,244 people

We are closed for 4th of July week. We will open again for clients on June 8 and 10 during our normal hours, 9-12 am.

June: Groceries or Snacks & drinks provided 1,296 times.

Thanks to the special deals at Save-a-lot, we purchased a whole buggy of cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving boxes for $.10/can.  If you ever run across a great sale in the Gastonia area or that you could purchase and bring in for us to reimburse you, please let us know!

Happy Birthday to Oleeta, a volunteer for 12 years. She's a faithful and hard working volunteer who now in her 80's and still going strong!

May: Groceries or Snacks & drinks provided 1,128 times.

Thank you to all those who donated funds during the January to April time when donations were matched by Run for the Money with the Gaston Community Foundation. Your donations were worth 40% more. We are so grateful for your thoughtfulness and support!

April: Groceries or Snacks & drinks provided 1,306 times.

Get your Donation Matched!
Community Foundation of Gastonia will partially match every donation made to BREAD through their website. Last year they matched at about 40%. Your donations go the farthest this time of year to help feed the hungry! Select BREAD, Inc. as your charity at this site. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/RunfortheMoney12?code=RUNwebsitedonations

March: Groceries/Snacks & drinks provided 1,282 times.

Skarkey's Place Raw Bar & Grill is having problems with some street people bathing in their sinks and using their outdoor dining area as a bathroom, etc. They created the "Bum" t-shirts to bring awareness to their problem. At BREAD we help with food but I wonder if street people have a bathroom accessible to them. Sue Ann Robb, owner of Running With Scissors, joined with other businesses to create a different T-shirt "Support Downtown Gastonia." Proceeds from these shirts are being donated to BREAD. Maybe we at BREAD can discover what the real need is and be part of the solution!

http://www.gastongazette.com/spotlight/sharkey-s-under-fire-for-t-shirts-updated-1.293971

RUN FOR THE MONEY
Looking for 5k runners, 2k walkers to join us April 12 to raise funds for BREAD! Sign up at this site and start getting sponsors that have a heart for families in need. Meet us at our booth on Run Day. Many local charities will be represented in the race. We would love to have you representing BREAD, Inc.!

Prize Money for 5K race

Best time overall: Male / Female $1,000 each

                                          First Place                    Second Place           

                                        Male      Female             Male     Female  

12 years and under     $500     $500                 $250     $250

13 - 18                            $500     $500                 $250     $250

19 - 29                            $500     $500                 $250     $250

30 - 39                            $500     $500                 $250     $250

40 - 49                            $500     $500                 $250     $250

50 - 59                            $500     $500                 $250     $250

60 & Up                          $500     $500                 $250     $250

http://cfgaston.org/runforthemoney/default.aspx

February: Groceries provided 1,179 times. Numbers down a little due to snows.

January

We were closed our first week due to freezing temperatures. Our warehouse is unheated. Brrrrr!

Nelson Hope is the owner of Carolina Burglar and Fire Alarm Service. He provides our security system and we are so grateful to him. If you are in Gaston county and want awesome security service, they are the only security service that provides local monitoring. The cost is $175 installation and $20/month. They are the oldest alarm company in Gaston County. Nelson live true to his name. Children are his heart. He gives them "Hope" by teaching music to struggling kids and helps orphanages.

2013 totals!

Groceries provided 19,996 times helping 50,752 counting family members

December: Groceries provided (including Christmas food boxes!) 2,813 times.

Thanks to TYSON foods providing generous discounts for us we were able to provide some meat in our Christmas distribution boxes to the first 110 clients on Tuesday and Thursday! Many individual donors who brought bags of groceries and gave donations made it possible for us to add enough extras for a Christmas meal in each box. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Hundreds of families were blessed this year due to your caring hearts and making what we do possible.

November: Groceries provided 3,164 times

Thanks to downtown businesses Running with Scissors and Retro Sideshow Vintage and Thrift we received 300 cans of food donated during the October Zombie walk they sponsored. Owner, Sue Ann Robb has a real heart for the bringing life to the downtown are and helping those in need. http://www.gastongazette.com/spotlight/shops-cater-to-downtown-gastonia-s-hipster-influx-1.207415

Thank you to Food Lion for their contribution! They gave us two $50 gift cards to purchase extra goodies for our Christmas food boxes. We hope to put the makings of a Christmas meal in our December food boxes and the gift cards will be a big help!

November 14-25 Community One Bank in Gastonia is hosting a food drive for BREAD. This will be a huge help to us as we try to provide extra items for our Christmas food boxes. This bank has a 100-year history with free checking. We are so grateful for their caring outreach! 804 S. New Hope Road (corner of New Hope and Garrison). https://www.community1.com/hp_View.aspx

October: We provided groceries 2,084 times to area families in need.

Thank you so much to the Gaston County  Courthouse Clerk Of Superior Court's office for collecting groceries to help us feed those in need here in downtown Gastonia. We served 459 clients this week.

September, Groceries provided 1,424 times representing families members totaling 3,677

August, Clients served 2023 times

We've averaged 440 clients per week this month. Some have talked about their struggles with the technical delays of food stamps. Many are unemployed. Most people come to receive, but one anonymous person came to give. They slid this envelope under our door with cash in it. Whoever you are. We thank you for sharing your love.

July: Clients served 1591 times

2 of our volunteers got married! Volunteering can change your life! We have no paid staff. Everyone is a volunteer and everyone is highly prized. Congratulations to Sherry and Art!

Great thanks to Gloria Solomon and her great youth group from Providence Place Christian Academy that came to volunteer 2 Mondays in a row. They bagged drinks for us to give away. Each week we had over 400 clients and each one gets a bag. So that's a lot of drink bagging to do. We were grateful for this enthusiastic bunch!

A truck from Texas was passing through our area and ended up with about 40 cases of pasta left over. They heard about us and brought it over. What a surprise and blessing that was!

June

May: Groceries provided 2045 times to those in need.

Thank you to ALL our contributors who made donations through the Community Foundation during the Run for the Money promotion. We are excited that these funds will be partially matched by race proceeds. We are grateful to the Community Foundation for it's great work in helping area non-profits raise money to support their efforts to help those in our community. Dedicated hands, working together, make a big difference!

Steve, owner of the new Bacon, Inc. (near Monkey Joes in Gastonia) brought us a donation to help feed the hungry. Even with all the expensive challenges of opening a new restaurant, he still cares about his community. We decided to thank him in person and visit his restaurant. Ever eat a deep-fried bacon-wrapped moon pie? Or a secret recipe burger that included ground bacon? or bacon salted home-made potato chips? We had a bacon-liscous visit!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bacon-Inc-Bar-and-Grill/419399681472329?fref=ts

Steve at Bacon, Inc welcomes Mrs. Lowery.

Bread, Inc volunteers visit Bacon, Inc.

April: Groceries provided 1570 times to those in need.

Here's 3 of BREAD's leading ladies at Run for the Money. We gave out cold drinks and enjoyed the cool morning with all the festivities.Run for the Money, Gastonia's charity race is April 20! Please come and visit our booth at the race on Saturday morning. Race kick off is 8 AM. We'll be there til noon at the Rotary Pavilion area 111 N. South Street.  We are so pleased to have 2 runners Melba Messer and Katie Reed!
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No April Fools! A listener who watched the news broadcast (below) worked to get us a truck of supplies! We'll open on April 9 restocked so we can continue to share with those who come.  How blessed we are!  And so grateful!

March:Groceries provided 1738 times to those in need.

We're going to be on Time Warner Cable News 14 tonight. Will post the linlk tomorrow. Our supplies are low right now at a time when there could be a jump in demand due to a problem with food stamps reported on last night's News 14. More details to come!
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/691653/gaston-co--food-bank-set-to-close-because-of-low-supplies
We will be closed April 1-7. Our warehouse is nearly bare.

February: Groceries provided 1680 times to those in need.

Put your running shoes on, compete for $12,500 in prizes, and support BREAD in
Gastonia's RUN FOR THE MONEY April 20.
There's a 5K run, 2K walk and matching donation opportunities.
Stop by our booth for a free drink. We'd love to see you there!
Donating to BREAD at the link below is the best way to donate between now and April 20 because donations are matched by event proceeds.
http://cfgaston.org/runforthemoney/default.aspx



Our new treasure! Old and beat up but it works! Unloading a truck just got hugely easier. We are so grateful for this donation from an old textile mill. We served 219 who stood in line for groceries yesterday. Thank you all for your generosity and care

Bananas?
We were so blessed to receive a  donation of "bananas!"  Well we started giving out the bananas and discovered they were Plantains! We cut one open and tasted it and had to spit it out. It was hard and bitter. Well, one of the 15 programs that we help, works with hispanic families. So we sent  plantains their way. The received the plantains like gold. It was Christmas. The exclamations never stopped. It is a big favorite! They chop up the "bananas" and cook them like potatoes or wait til they are yellow and bake them with milk and sugar and vanilla. We are grateful for all the unique ways God provides for us and the unusual blessings He enjoys sending our way through open-hearted donors.





January: Groceries were provided 1813 times this month to needy families.


Special thanks so Jim Smothers and USAIRWAYS! US AIR has a Flights for 50 program. Jim faithfully volunteered every Monday and accumulated 50 hours for which USAIR donated a $500 gift card to BREAD! How grateful we are to Jim for his faithful service to care for those in need and for the support of US AIR to encourage their employees to help the community! Jim is featured on  our Donations page.

2012

 Details: We provided food 23,813 times this year to those in need!

DECEMBER was exciting!

Thanks to a very kind donor, we received 400 hams to make Christmas dinner a WOW event for 400 of our families. With other donation that came in we were able to give a box of food with those hams so that Christmas did not have to be bleak for those in need this year. See our pictures on Facebook. Long lines waited for this big blessing and it was a joy to have something so wonderful to provide for our clients. Merry Christmas to all our donors and may the love you've shared be returned to you in hundreds of ways this coming year.

Big Thanks to the Bethesda United Methodist Chruch Day School! They had a can drive and collected canned and non-perishable foods that we need so much. They brought 24 bags full of food! Wow! What a great bunch of kids! More pics available on Facebook.

Donations have come in from individuals of collected food and financial donations. You are the foundation we stand on. You are what keeps our doors open! Please receive our love and thanks for you make it possible for us to give and we are SO grateful for you.

Grateful thanks to Food Lion for their corporate donation of $250! It sure came at a good time. Due to increased demand our supplies are stretched thin. See the picture on our donations page of what we were able to purchase! The W.Garrison store in Gastonia was very helpful and thoughtful to us.

NOVEMBER: Food provided to 1878 this month!
Cart fulls of thanks to Save-A-lot Grocery Stores. Our food supplies are pretty low. Just in time we received $300 from Save-A-Lot corporate to purchase some healthy variety of food for our food boxes! What a great staff at the W. Franklin, Gastonia store. See the picture on our donations page.

Special thanks to RANLO Baptist Church for a loving gift of $188. We so appreciate the help to meet our expenses. Thank you for your continued help to get our drinks bagged up and ready for our clients. You are a group that cares and shares!

Thanksgiving was HUGE! Thanks so an awesomely generous local business owner 100s of our families received Thanksgiving dinner with Ham and all the fixins. We can just imagine the suprise and joy for the children of those struggling families who aren't used to having a chance to enjoy good food like that!

Our own Mrs. Lowery, was honored  for her years of service to the community. A special service and luncheon was planned for her by the Ephesus SDA Church. 6 of our clients also attended this event. See the pictures under the Events tab.

Great thanks to AMERICORPS for their group of volunteers who came to help us for Make a Difference Day. They sure made a difference to us! They painted, sorted clothes and food donations, and cleaned the kitchen area. Plus they were delightful to work with, willing and caring. See their pictures here under the tab Volunteer Groups. See their pictures on the Volunteer Groups page.

OCTOBER
Huge service month. We gave out groceries  2,307 times this month! That includes weekly distribution of breads, drinks and salad; and monthly food boxes that a family can receive.

THANKS to FAMILY DOLLAR for a $100 gift card donation. We purchased much needed cleaning and kitchen supplies. We are grateful that you are making a difference in your community! We shopped at the store on 3125 Dallas High Shoals Hwy, Dallas, NC.

Volunteers! Great thanks to RANLO BAPTIST CHURCH for coming on Mondays to help bag drinks!
What a great and caring bunch you are! What a blessing! See pictures on the Volunteer page.
Thanks ever so much for your help! If your group or club could help anytime, please give us a call!

SEPTEMBER. We are grateful to have served the 1474 who came to our doors this month. Our supplies
are low. Canned goods are our greatest need in the food department.

AUGUST was a huge month! 1860 people stood in line to get extra food for their families. I wish you could be here and hear the gratitude of those who are thankful for any little bit of help to make it through a difficult week. Come and see!

JULY was scorching hot but we were still able to give groceries 1585 times this month. Our volunteers in the
non-air conditioned warehouse rooms need extra thanks! That's love with sweat all over it!

MAY was a record-breaking month. We averaged 600 people standing in line for food each week.
The need seems to continue to increase.

Gastonia food bank has record-breaking month

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/14/3381762/gastonia-food-bank-has-record.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/14/3381762/gastonia-food-bank-has-record.html#storylink=misearch

Brief details about B.r.e.a.d., Inc.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/06/3360165/briefly.html#storylink=misearch
Donations are currently accepted on this website or by mail only.

Local food bank accepting online donations
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/food-67931-donations-bank.html

More Gaston residents needing food stamps
http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/imagined-65996-stamps-last.html

2011 Details

The number of times we have distributed groceries in 2011 has incresed to 22,810. Not only have we been able to help families but we've also been able to share with other non-profit organizations when we had extra food and drinks.

Area food pantry facing bare shelves
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/food-58628-pantry-shelves.html

At 84, she's still helping to make sure there's plenty to feed the needy
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/needy-61198-plenty-call.html

Gaston poverty rate rising
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/gaston-62658-poverty-rate.html

2010 has been a very busy year for B.R.E.A.D. Inc.

Our dedicated team of nine volunteers are supported by short term volunteers that together provided grocieries 18,039 times to families in the Gaston County and surrounding areas.

Courthouse clerks selling cookbooks to benefit local charity
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/county-44599-courthouse-gaston.html

2009 in the News

Some area food banks are short on supplies, while others are doing fine: http://www.gastongazette.com/news/food-33796-donations-people.html

2008 in the News

Cupboard Going Bare
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/food-21667-brackett-donations.html

B.R.E.A.D. hands out hams for the holiday
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/holiday-28334-lowery-christmas.html

B.R.E.A.D. to give out Christmas dinners on Thursday
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/christmas-28296-meals-food.html

2007 in the News

Ministries struggling to provide holiday assistance
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/christmas-13633-donations-food.html


As you can see the need to help others is rapidly growing.