The Monadnock Food Co-op will launch a month-long Round It Up Donation Drive to benefit the Daily Good on March 1, 2021. This drive will last through the month and end on March 31. The Co-op’s Round It Up program empowers shoppers to make a positive change in their community by donating their change to local community organizations.

Since its founding in the fall of 2019, the Daily Good has purchased and delivered more than 5,000 food items to students in need at Keene State College, Antioch University of New England, and other local centers. Food insecurity on college campuses is a growing reality nationwide, and the Daily Good is doing its part to help overcome that challenge in Keene.

“There is so much emotion and positive human experience connected with food,” said Sandra Neil Wallace, the Daily Food Co-Founder. “You can literally break barriers across experiences by breaking bread together.”

The Daily Good’s programs have done more than battle hunger. By providing “foods from home” for the colleges’ growing population of students with roots in Africa, India, Central America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere, the nonprofit organization has fostered a sense of cross-cultural awareness. And by making students feel at home in Keene, the Daily Good is helping to increase the area’s cultural diversity.

While there were fewer students on campus during the start of the pandemic, the Daily Good actually increased its food program during the spring, the summer, and the winter break. Many students have remained on campus or elsewhere in the community throughout the pandemic. Our weekly deliveries of plantain chips, ramen noodles, mango juice, and many other requested items have been well-received during this time.

“We hear directly from so many students who express their gratitude for our efforts,” said Rich Wallace, the Daily Food Co-Founder. “They also to let us know which foods from home will enhance their experience in Keene. They say so many positive things about Keene, and we’re happy to make things even better for them.”