Erin McAleer, president of Project Bread. Photo by Channing Johnson.
Erin McAleer was working 24/7.
It was March and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker had to slow the spread of COVID-19.
As president of , McAleer was trying to find creative ways to keep children fed as schools closed across the commonwealth. According to her Boston-based nonprofit, which works to address food shortages, 400,000 kids in Massachusetts to stave off hunger.
鈥淚 realized that this public health challenge was unique,鈥� recalls McAleer, who graduated from the Boston College School of Social Work in 2005. 鈥淭he models of feeding people in the past wouldn鈥檛 be safe during a pandemic.鈥�
After careful planning, Project Bread partnered with the 聽and school districts across the state to create 1,600 pop-up meal sites. During the first four months of the pandemic, the nonprofit per day.聽
McAleer says Project Bread purchased to-go bags, refrigerators, and tents to ensure the operation ran smoothly.聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working around the clock since March,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a hunger crisis, but COVID-19 has made it worse.鈥�
Earlier this month, Boston Globe Magazine named one of its 聽for keeping people fed in unprecedented times. She joined scientists, social justice advocates, essential workers, and community leaders who, the Globe said, have 鈥渟tood up to fight the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice.鈥�
鈥淓rin McAleer鈥檚 impact through enduring partnerships with a network of social service providers and communities inspires us,鈥� says Gautam N. Yadama, dean of the Boston College School of Social Work. 鈥淚t is an example for us in the school on ways to draw on the foundations of social work practice to advance the common good.鈥�
Prior to the pandemic, 9 percent of households in Massachusetts . But record rates of unemployment and lost wages caused by the closing of businesses have increased that number to 17.8 percent.聽
One in five children now lives in a household that to enough food and聽Black households with children are 聽as white households to go hungry.聽
鈥淟ow-income kids get half their meals from school,鈥� says McAleer. 鈥淲hen they closed, that created a huge gap.鈥�
In August, Project Bread helped get a bill passed to make breakfast part of the school day for 150,000 students in Massachusetts. The will require about 600 schools to offer breakfast during the day鈥攋ust like lunch.聽
McAleer says that children who eat breakfast score higher on tests and visit the school nurse less than peers who skip the meal. She says they鈥檙e more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to be absent.聽
鈥淚f you鈥檙e hungry, it's hard to focus,鈥� she says. 鈥淗unger is one of the biggest distractions there is.鈥�
Project Bread鈥檚 helps people fight hunger, directing people to food pantries and programs like Meals on Wheels. Over the past several months, four times more people than usual have called the hotline to get the food they need.聽
The hotline can field questions in 180 languages, including English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and the operators connect people to programs confidentially.聽聽
鈥淣o matter what you鈥檙e going through, we understand that food is a must,鈥� the website for the hotline says. 鈥淲e want to help you.鈥�
“We鈥檝e been working around the clock since March. There鈥檚 always a hunger crisis, but COVID-19 has made it worse.”
McAleer knows what it鈥檚 like to grow up in a family that struggles to put food on the table. She and her two brothers lived with their mom, a part-time real estate agent who worried about making ends meet.
McAleer remembers eating cereal and frozen pies. She remembers her mom begging banks to wait to cash their checks. But most of all, McAleer remembers the uncertainty spread across her mom鈥檚 face. She had bills to pay, a mortgage. How would she feed her kids?
鈥淲hat we ate impacted me,鈥� says McAleer, who grew up in West Peabody, Massachusetts. 鈥淏ut more than the food, it was the stress, and my mother was really stressed out.鈥�
Over time, life improved. The family moved to Ipswich, a coastal town with a good school system, McAleer鈥檚 mom got a master鈥檚 degree in social work, and McAleer discovered her calling.聽
Her mom told her the story of , a social worker who in the 1930s. As secretary of labor, Perkins created the first minimum wage, defined the 40-hour work week, and established overtime laws for American workers.聽
鈥淵ou want to craft policy solutions?鈥� her mom asked.
鈥淵es,鈥� McAleer said.聽
鈥淔rances Perkins was a social worker,鈥� her mom said.聽
And that was that.聽
McAleer received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from Holy Cross in 2002 and enrolled at 精东影业 in 2003. She says she chose 精东影业 for its program in macro social work, which prepares students to help communities solve complex problems.
鈥淭he No. 1 thing that social work school taught me is that it鈥檚 about justice, not charity,鈥� says McAleer, who received the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award from the School of Social Work in 2014. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about you鈥檙e hungry, so here鈥檚 some food. It鈥檚 more about why are you hungry? What are the systemic causes of this?鈥�
McAleer interned for the and the . She testified before the state legislature for NAMI, asking for more funding. 鈥淚 got my first taste of advocacy work,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 learned how to organize and bring people together.鈥�
At NASW, she helped set the legislative agenda, which included affordable housing, voting rights, and immigration reform, and helped elect politicians who supported legislation that aligned with the goals of social workers. 鈥淭hat was a huge learning experience,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 pass policies if you don鈥檛 have elected officials who are endorsing them.鈥�
McAleer says her internships in health and public policy shaped her career path. And she says her jobs that led her to Project Bread in 2017 have prepared her to make critical decisions under pressure during the pandemic.聽聽
In February 2014, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick asked her to overhaul the state鈥檚 Department of Children and Families. Five months later, he asked her to find ways for the state to who had crossed the U.S. border illegally.
As director of cabinet affairs, McAleer told Patrick that a lot of people would not like this, that he would not score political points. But she knew it was the right thing to do and started coordinating plans with state agencies.
鈥淗e put me in charge because I鈥檓 a social worker,鈥� says McAleer. 鈥淗e knew that I would make sure these kids had a place that would welcome them.鈥�
In the end, the federal government chose not to bring kids to Massachusetts. But politics proved to be a training ground for McAleer鈥檚 work at Project Bread.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e been fortunate to work for people who have trusted me to take on big responsibilities,鈥� she says. 鈥淚've been given opportunities to lead.鈥�
Now she鈥檚 received a major honor for her work as a leader. Now she鈥檚 a Bostonian of the Year.