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

B.R.E.A.D. stands for Blessings Received Each Appointed Day. 

We are a non-profit organization 501 (C) (3) that has been in business for 15 years.
All donations are tax deductible.
B.R.E.A.D. Inc. is led by President, Dorothy Lowery

                                                         Our President, Dorothy Lowery.

All work is volunteer 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.   Our  source of income to meet our monthly rent/utilities/food transportation costs comes from generous hearts like yours who care about those in need and our from our God who has never let us down.

A wave to you from Terry in the window where drinks are picked up.

Please check our Facebook page at B.R.E.A.D., Inc. We would love to share our stories with you.

Current Needs

Our current needs include:
Any donation of food, paper products, personal products
Produce
Canned food
A small box truck with lift gate,  or cargo van.
Someone with a truck who could drive even once a week to help us.
Caring citizens willing to donate $10/month to help us meet our building rent and utilities.
A larger building. We currently rent 5,000 sq. feet and could really use a larger location. We need parking to accommodate at least 50. We currently have 10 parking spaces.

2015

January

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!
****************
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.