East Bay Community Action Program honoring Hope & Main

East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) will honor the Warren business, Hope & Main, with a 2024 Vision Award at its 19th Annual Seaside Gala on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the Wyndham Newport Hotel. Hope & Main is being honored for providing prepared meals for Head Start and East Bay Recovery Center families.

EBCAP’s Vision Awards are presented to individuals and organizations that have made a profound impact on the agency, the lives of its clients, and the surrounding community. Hope & Main is a culinary incubator that has launched 300 businesses since 2014. Its "buy one, give one program," called Nourish our Neighbors, has provided 60,000 prepared meals since 2020. In 2021, Hope & Main began providing meals to our Head Start and East Bay Recovery Center families who were experiencing food insecurity. Today, they have provided a total of 1,337 meals. The Nourish Our Neighbors program is managed by Shelby Doggett, Director of Food Systems. In the Spring of 2023, Hope & Main also provided dinner for 75 people at a Head Start family event. Their staff set up, served, and prepared leftovers for families to take home with them.

“Hope & Main has demonstrated a wonderful collaboration with community partners. The benefit to our families of having available, nutritious meals has been, and continues to be, helpful and supportive,” said East Bay Community Action Program’s Lead Family Advocate, Cheryl Schofield, who nominated them for the award.

The following community members will also be honored as EBCAP 2024 Vision Award recipients: United Way of Rhode Island of Providence, RI, for its annual 401Gives event that has helped EBCAP raise over $75,000 for its Backpack Feeding Program; Carol and David Bazarsky of Newport, RI, founders of the Bazarsky Family Foundation which provides ongoing support to EBCAP’s Baby Steps Program; Paula Bradley of Portsmouth, RI, for more than 30 years of service to EBCAP’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program’s Advisory Council.

Additionally, Marvin L. Abney, Rhode Island State Representative and Chair of the House Committee on Finance, will receive EBCAP’s 2024 Public Service Award for his advocacy on the housing crisis, supporting business development, and equitable funding for education. In addition, he has been a key supporter of EBCAP's early childhood education programs.

The Premier Sponsor for EBCAP’s 19th Annual Seaside Gala is Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. Tickets for the gala are on sale now on EBCAP’s website, www.ebcap.org. For more information contact Maggie Laurianno, Director of Communications and Development, at 401.847.7821 ext. 1539.

The fundraising portion of EBCAP’s 19th Annual Seaside Gala will feature an online auction, offering a variety of dining, hotel stays, travel, family fun, sports tickets, and more. Auction items are available for preview now at biddingforgood.com/EBCAP. The top auction prize is a 7-day Holland America Line Cruise for two people to either Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Canada/New England. The auction opens on May 30 and closes on June 13. All are welcome to register and bid.

East Bay Community Action Program is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation that provides a wide array of health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay, including the municipalities of East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, and Jamestown.

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