Family Pantry event celebrates local funding for community food program
On Thursday, August 17, at The Family Pantry of Cape Cod at 133 Queen Anne Rd. in Harwich, between 5-7 p.m. local fisherman will be joined by Cape Air founder and CEO Dan Wolf to help distribute dogfish fillets, caught off Cape Cod by our local fleet, to Family Pantry clients.
Cape Air and Cape Cod Healthcare have supplied key funding for the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance’s Fish for Families program that gives locally caught seafood to families in need. Since its inception in 2013, this partnership with The Family Pantry of Cape Cod has provided over 100,000 seafood meals to people on Cape Cod suffering from food insecurity.
Wolf, a former State Senator, and his team at Cape Air support this important community connection between hungry families and the local fishing fleet. “Fish caught by Cape Cod fishermen, in Cape Cod waters, shared with Cape Cod neighbors and families — that to us at Cape Air is an inspiring combination, a great program we’re proud to support” says Wolf.
Cape Cod Healthcare has supported the Fishermen’s Alliance’s dedication to providing healthy protein to vulnerable populations with Community Benefits grants for the last three years.
Dogfish is an abundant but underutilized species, harvested locally from July through late November. It is one of several Cape Cod fish species that the Fish for Families program makes available to The Family Pantry and other Cape Cod Hunger Network pantries across the Cape each year.
“Fishermen really appreciate knowing that the fish they catch can feed people here on Cape Cod who sometimes need a little help making ends meet” says John Pappalardo, CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “And to have this kind of support from community-minded organizations like Cape Air and Cape Cod Healthcare is truly a vote of confidence in our Fish For Families program.”
The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance is a nonprofit created by and for fishermen whose work – on fisheries management, scientific projects and community education – is aimed at protecting fish and fishing for future generations. www.capecodfishermen.org
