Thru the Lens: East Cambridge Savings Bank partners with Community Cooks to fight hunger

Cambridge, MA East Cambridge Savings Bank continued its longstanding support of Somerville-based non-profit organization, Community Cooks. On the first Thursday of each month, a team of 22 bank employees makes sandwiches for Community Cooks. The lunches are then sent to the Somerville Backpack Program so public school students and their families have access to food on the weekends. East Cambridge Savings Bank president and chief executive officer Gilda Nogueira, who is part of the team of cooks from the bank, said that this type of volunteer work is key to the mission of a community bank. “As a locally based bank, we are deeply invested in the success of our communities and this continued partnership with Community Cooks reflects our commitment to local nonprofit organizations. Not only do we show our support through donations, but also with hands on volunteering and projects like the monthly lunch program,” said Nogueira.

In addition to the monthly lunch donation, East Cambridge Savings Bank recently made a $1,000 donation to the Community Cooks Annual Fundraiser, which was held on Saturday, May 20. 

This donation will support Community Cooks mission of organizing individuals, businesses and faith based groups to prepare home cooked and nutritious meals that are donated to human service organizations that provide food to people in need throughout the Greater Boston area. 

Community Cooks executive director Daniele Levine emphasized the importance of support from the business community. “We appreciate East Cambridge Savings Bank’s continued commitment to helping us build a culture of caring through sharing food. Month after month, East Cambridge Savings Bank employees serve with such generosity and caring, ensuring that hundreds of Somerville students in need have access to nourishing food over the weekend,” Levine said. 

In addition to the team of cooks from East Cambridge Savings Bank, which has been participating in the monthly lunch program since 2013, Community Cooks mobilizes 900 volunteers throughout the Greater Boston area who provide meals to over 4,400 vulnerable individuals each month.     

East Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service mutually-held savings bank that believes in connecting with customers. The bank was established in 1854 and is dedicated to providing businesses and individuals with a full line of banking services in the communities it serves. Headquartered in Cambridge, the bank has offices in Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Chelsea, Medford, Somerville, and Waltham, as well as an educational training facility at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge, Mass.