B.R.E.A.D. stands for
Blessings Received Each Appointed Day.
We are a non-profit organization 501 (C) (3) that is celebrating it's 22st anniversary this year!
All donations are tax deductible.
B.R.E.A.D. Inc.
We will be CLOSED Easter Week April 5-9 to give our volunteers a break as is our tradition.
NEWS FLASH! OUR BUILDING SOLD! We're on the search for a new location! We need 2-5,000+ sq. ft. with a double door access for pallets of food, bathroom and small office would be nice! We currently have 3,500 sq. ft. and are pretty packed. We have faithfully paid rent for 30 years. Do you know of a vacant space for us? We need to be moved by April 30.
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
All work at BREAD, Inc. is done by volunteers (we have no paid staff or paid board member) and most of our food is donated. We share the love of Jesus Christ to those in need, by providing food and groceries to the homeless, elderly, and low-income individuals and/or families of Gaston County. Income to meet our monthly rent/utilities/food transportation costs comes from generous hearts like yours who care about those in need and from our God who has never let us down.
Please check our Facebook page at B.R.E.A.D., Inc. We would love to share our stories with you.
Donations always appreciated:
Food: Food donations welcome! We are grateful for anything you would like to bring! Donations that are extra nice are eggs, soup, potatoes boxed or canned, canned fruit, canned protein. We appreciate extra garden produce, too! We do have a source for bread, cereal, noodles, and drinks.
Clothes, household: Items in high demand: men's used comfortable shoes and warm clothes, coats, gloves, and backpacks for those who walk or strong carry bags or suitcases that can be pulled on wheels, small tent for homeless.
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. We have a small parking lot so it's hard to get in during rush.
Holiday Wish List: Food for holiday meal boxes. Canned: Green beans, corn, sweet potatoes. Boxed: Mashed Potatoes, Mac n Cheese, Stuffing.
We currently rent 3,700 sq. feet for $500/month and could really use a larger location. We need parking spaces and a lift door for shipments. (If you have any suggestions, let us know!)
MARCH
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
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!
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| Owens Corning food drive! |
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| Partners sent volunteers! |
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| Fresh Dental donation! |
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| Knights of Columbus Food drive! |
2021! Happy New Year!
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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.
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| Smoothie King promotion photo. See our smiles? |
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| Donation of Warm Clothes from Bessemer City Church of God! |
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| 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!
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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!
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| 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.
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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
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Electrical
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POS
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CCTV
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A/V
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Paging
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Cloud Phone Systems/Internet
Volunteering is rewarding! We have a few slots open for Tuesday and Thursday morning volunteers! Thanks to Mazda Gastonia for this infographic! https://www.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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| Birthday girl with Oleeta her oldest volunteer at 85 |
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| Sister Lowery with Linda |
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| Dolores gives honor speech. |
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| 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~!
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!
Fresh Dental Gastonia
Advantage Drainage Systems, Bessemer City
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.
