I'm turning 30 this year, so I wanted to do something really special. I've been giving a lot of thought to those who have made a difference in my life, and the Queens Galley immediately sprang to mind. The Queens Galley made a world of difference for me in a time of need, the way it continues to do for hundreds of people throughout the local community. To show my gratitude, I want to raise $1,500 to help the QG fund their various hunger awareness programs, and to obtain the necessary materials and equipment repairs required to continue serving others in need.

What is the Queens Galley?

The short answer:

The Queens Galley is a 501( c)3 not for profit organization that provides awareness, education, relief and prevention of food insecurity in America. The Queens Galley supports, creates and implements programs dedicated to the affordable nutritional education of children, families and seniors.

The long answer:

The Queens Galley is the only soup kitchen in Ulster County where anyone can receive three meals a day, seven days a week, with no questions asked. Since the Queens Galley does not require proof of poverty, it does not receive any sort of government funding, relying solely on volunteer donations to stay afloat.

The purpose of the Queens Galley soup kitchen is to assist anyone struggling with issues of food insecurity. This includes working families with children who have difficulty paying for housing, healthcare and childcare and trying to put healthy food on the table for the family.

When you walk into the Queens Galley, you are treated with the utmost respect and integrity. You won't find a breadline, or what's affectionately referred to in some circles as “soup kitchen slop”. You are seated and served by friendly volunteer staff, and waited upon, as though you were in a restaurant. In fact, all of the meals are restaurant quality—prepared by talented, highly trained chefs.

The Queens Galley is much more than just a soup kitchen, offering a variety of services to benefit the local community, including holding nutrition education workshops, and operating a “School's Out” program to help feed local children when school is not in session.

The Queens Galley Difference

At the Queens Galley, poverty does not equate a lack of dignity. In addition to all of the other services they provide, the QG staff seek to eliminate the stigma associated with poverty and food insecurity.

I can't tell you what a comfort and a relief it was to be served without judgment the first time I walked through the Queens Galley's doors. All too often, the poor are treated as subhuman, and stripped of their basic dignities.
Simply being treated as a human being, deserving of genuine care, can be incredibly empowering.

How Will My Donation Help?

Your donation helps to fund important Food Insecurity and hunger awareness programs. For every dollar spent at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, the Queens Galley staff are able to purchase $10 worth of food.

$10 buys over 60lbs of food at the Food bank.

$25 buys over 150lbs of food from the Food Bank.

$50 buys over 300lbs of food from the Food Bank.

$100 buys over 625lbs of food from the Food Bank

$500 buys over 3000lbs of food from the Food Bank.

In addition, donations are used to obtain basic kitchen supplies (such as trash bags, gloves, and food storage containers), to fund educational workshops and series, and to pay for necessary repairs to kitchen equipment including reach-in and walk-in coolers, exhaust hoods, and ovens.

For more information about the Queens Galley:
http://www.queensgalley.org
https://www.facebook.com/The.Queens.Galley
http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2010/12/Food+&+Drink/Satisfying-a-Deeper-Hunger


This is incredibly important to me, and I can guarantee you that every dollar will help. If you really want to give me a gift that I'll remember for years to come, help me to help others by making a donation.

We can do this.

-Allison

(PS: Although my actual birthday is 8/14, I've extended the fundraiser to 8/31 because I got a late start on putting everything together. )