<article class="content"> <p>Winter may be upon us, but Hello Neighbor is fighting back the cold with warmth, friendship, and direct community support!</p> <p>After receiving a <strong>$10,000 CARES Act grant</strong>, Hello Neighbor chose to use these funds to host one final essential items distribution of the year.</p> <p>With the help of dedicated volunteers and grocery store partners, we <strong>provided $6,000 in groceries and food stipends to 70 refugee families.</strong></p> <p>We partnered with local, immigrant-run grocery stores to host three days of distributions at <a href="https://doublefresh.net/">Double Fresh International Market</a>, African Family Shop and <a href="https://salemsmarketgrill.com/">Salem’s Market and Grill</a>. Hello Neighbor families were invited to meet us at their closest grocery store to receive a $75 food stipend to get them through the tough weeks ahead.</p> <p>Though we saw a great turn out from our refugee neighbors, we had several Hello Neighbor families who were unable to attend due to testing positive for COVID-19. <strong>For homebound families, we distributed more than 15 boxes of groceries, each box containing $100 worth of food</strong>.</p> <p>One of our favorite moments includes Kamal, the manager and owner of Double Fresh, describing the meaning behind his store’s name, <em>“The name, Double Fresh, means we are not just bring fresh, we are bringing the FRESHEST of the fresh!”</em></p> <p>Thank you to all three stores for welcoming our families in and joining us to provide for their essential needs. We are so happy with how this distribution went, and we’re excited to keep supporting our families throughout the winter!</p> <p>Click through the slider below to see some photos from the December distribution week!