It’s a labor of love for one couple who travels throughout Framingham to feed hungry children and families. They do it to keep their son’s memory alive.
One smile and one plate of food at a time is how David and Alicia Blais of Framingham plan to knock out hunger in their hometown. David says,
“Over dinner one night I was talking to Alicia and I said what if we just solved it, what would it look like if we just solved hunger in Framingham?”
Alicia agreed,
“You know yourself when you’re hungry you don’t study well you don’t work well, you don’t think straight.”
The Greater Boston Food bank estimates about 1 in 12 people in Eastern Massachusetts get assistance with food. Many are families with children, and that especially touched the couple who started Daniel's Table two years ago. David says,
“My son died at birth 21 years ago, and when we started with this project we thought that we would name it after him, its kind of a motivating factor for me.”
Their food trailer is designed with a picture of Daniel as his parents picture him.
They fill it up and hitch it to their pickup truck and head to different neighborhoods in what’s considered the largest town in the country. The trailer can serve about 300 people a night.
We met them in Freddie Franjul’s neighborhood where he says seeing the truck is a huge relief. He’s a single dad raising 3 daughters. Franjul says,
“Actually it’s a big deal for everyone around here b/c everyone is on a fixed income; like tonight we didn’t have to spend money on dinner. We get to take advantage of this opportunity over here.”
That’s the idea, especially when school is out, these hot dogs and hamburgers often replace meals children would otherwise receive through free lunch programs. David Blais says that’s the point.
“Summer is the most challenging time for some of these kids—because their parents are going to have to feed them 3 times a day instead of just once.”
David and Alicia Blais feed close to 1,000 a week for free. Expenses like food, equipment, and gas for the truck add up. They have some donors, and David says something else.
“We pray a lot, we get our strongest response when we do that.”
And prayer works! They just bought a bigger trailer that can feed about 3,000 people a day. Alicia thinks they have an angel watching over them: the son who is always with them in spirit,
“I think he looks down and probably helps make it all happen.”
To donate to Daniel’s Table you can find them here:
Web: Danielstable.org
Email: solvehungernow@yahoo.com
Phone: 781 664 0500
