“Comfort comes from being around people that you don’t have to explain stuff to. The lunch program is the calm amidst the chaos; a soft place for them to land.”
Gina recalls how her mother worked to offset the uncertainty that permeated childhood on an Airforce base during the Vietnam War. It was admiration for her father’s sacrifices and her mother’s tireless caring that led Gina to create the Holyoke Veteran’s Lunch, a weekly community lunch program where she and her team work to create a “soft place to land” for local vets. Gina’s resourcefulness and creativity have made the lunch program a great success and she has set her sights on expanding the programs of her non-profit, Community Roots, to cultivate comfort and caring in her community.