Charitable Giving Spotlight: Sam Icklan, Project Bread

As part of our commitment to supporting worthy through our Charitable Giving program, we have built a longstanding relationship with Project Bread, a Massachusetts-based organization fighting food insecurity in our state.

In this in-depth interview, we speak with Sam Icklan, Project Bread’s Director of Community Nutrition Services, to gain a full understanding of hunger in Massachusetts, what it means to be food insecure, and how Project Bread is combating this often silent yet vitally important issue. Sam also details how contributions from Odysseys Unlimited go directly towards helping Project Bread accomplish their goals.

Interested in learning more about the causes we support? Read our Q+A with Galina Khitrova from the International Rescue Committee here.

Odysseys Unlimited: Let’s start with an overview of Project Bread. How long has it been in operation, what is the mission of the organization, which communities does Project Bread serve, and who benefits from the work that your team does?

Sam Icklan: Project Bread connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible – so that no one goes hungry. Since 1969, Project Bread has served as the only statewide anti-hunger organization, combating food insecurity through direct services, education and training, policy research and advocacy, outreach, and community engagement.    

Our programs seek to not only feed those who are hungry now, but to target the root causes of hunger through systemic change. We work to remove barriers preventing low-income and underserved populations from accessing healthy food. Collectively, we reach hundreds of thousands of residents with compassionate, inclusive care to end hunger. Our work boosts household food budgets on a daily basis while promoting policy change at the state level.  

Through its many programs, Project Bread serves a broad demographic, but is particularly focused on underserved, economically disadvantaged populations in urban and rural areas across Massachusetts.   

Specifically, I’ll call out a few of our more visible initiatives:

• We reach hundreds of thousands of school children through our work to improve the school meals system and ensure all kids have access to free meals year-round.   

• We have helped over 20,000 callers in their native language through our FoodSource Hotline, offering timely, compassionate assistance.   
• We reach non-English communities with multilingual outreach and help connect all low-to-moderate income individuals and families with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps), a proven successful anti-poverty program. 
   

Project Bread recognizes that certain marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, and we are committed to using our platform to recognize the connection between food insecurity and racial inequities. We actively listen and learn from the communities most impacted by food insecurity and help these communities to develop research, programs, and policy.

Nearly 40% of households in Massachusetts struggle to afford enough food.

OU: Talk to me about your role - what do you do as the Director of Community Nutrition Services, and how does Odysseys Unlimited help your team?

Sam: I lead a team of Chef Educators who work with school districts across Massachusetts to help them improve their school meals through a program called the School Food Fellowship. Odysseys helps to fund this program, which is a two-year development program for school nutrition professionals. Through this program, Chef Educators provide food service staff with monthly online training sessions coupled with hands-on training and guidance in their own school kitchens. 

The Chef Educators are professionally trained chefs with expertise in navigating the complex and unique challenges of the school food system. We provide professional development training, mentoring, and recipe testing with school districts seeking to create positive, sustainable change to their meal programs. 

These partnerships are designed to be collaborative and responsive to the needs of each district, and to provide school nutrition departments with the tools to improve school meal quality, increase student participation, and navigate operational challenges. 

Training topics from this past year include “Plant-Based Center of the Plate,” “Food Waste Solutions,” “Intro to Halal School Meals,” and “Staff-Inspired Recipe Development.” We also cover topics such as knife skills, kitchen efficiencies, kitchen leadership, increasing local foods in schools and student engagement.  

We work extensively with School Food Fellowship participants on menu design and recipe testing with students to develop exciting, culturally relevant recipes that kids love. 

Project Bread is the only statewide anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts.

The Odysseys Unlimited team participating in Project Bread’s annual Walk for Hunger, the organization's flagship community fundraiser

OU: Every year, Odysseys Unlimited sends a team to Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. This is one of the organization’s main annual initiatives, and ranks as the longest-running pledge walk in the United States, having taken place every year since 1969. Can you tell me a bit about the significance and impact of the Walk for Hunger? 

Sam: For 58 years, Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger has helped families, friends, and communities across Massachusetts spread awareness for food insecurity in our state. While the Walk has changed a little over the years, what has remained constant is the commitment of walkers to ending hunger in Massachusetts for good.  

This year, the Walk for Hunger felt more important than ever. Food insecurity in Massachusetts has more than doubled since 2019; a recent report identified that nearly 40% of households in our state struggle to afford enough food. At the same time, cuts to federal food assistance programs like SNAP are making it harder for families to afford food. 

The Walk for Hunger has been held every year since 1969, making it the longest-running pledge walk in the United States.

We were excited that the Odysseys Unlimited team joined more than 4,500 walkers this year – both on Boston Common for the official event and through virtual walks – to celebrate the progress we have made so far and to double down on our commitment to fighting hunger in our state. 

A snapshot of Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger in Boston Common

OU: Where do you see the most opportunity to enhance Project Bread’s impact going forward? What is the biggest need currently? 

Sam: Families in Massachusetts are struggling right now to put food on the table. Rising gas, food, utility, and real estate prices are impacting all of us, especially those who already are making hard choices about buying groceries and feeding themselves and their families.  

Project Bread sees opportunity in leveraging successful programs and in advocating at the state level for changes that will positively impact Massachusetts residents.  

In addition to our Chef Educators program, we are leaning into Project Bread’s other key programs and services to support those in need: 

• Our FoodSource Hotline, which provides more than 20,000 callers annually with help navigating SNAP in more than 180 languages

• Our Health Care Partnerships program, where more than 8,000 clients each year are connected directly with a nutrition counselor who assesses their specific needs and gives 1:1 nutritional support and financial assistance for groceries and kitchen supplies so they are able to enjoy nutritious meals that are appropriate for their health needs

• Our Child Nutrition team, which provides grants, technical assistance and outreach support to hundreds of schools and community organizations as they deliver school breakfast and summer meals to thousands of children throughout the year  

• Our Community Engagement team, which continues to build strong relationships with community-based organizations and partners to understand the challenges communities are facing and providing training and other support; 

• Advocating at the state level for policies that will benefit children and families in Massachusetts so they can access healthy meals.  

 The Chef Educator team is always working to better understand and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the school food system, and to share the lessons we’ve learned and resources we’ve developed with districts all across the state. 

We strive to be a valuable resource to school nutrition professionals. We know working together with these amazing partners strengthens the school food system in Massachusetts and helps ensure that every child has access to delicious, nutritious and culturally connected school meals.   

OU: When you think of your time at Project Bread, is there a specific project or a person/family that sticks out to you as being especially meaningful or impactful? 

Sam: There are so many stories and programs that help give our team purpose and focus to continue our work to end hunger in Massachusetts.  

We had a Health Care Partnership program client who shared their story about how the program helped with their work:  

Three months into the program, she told her counselor, “This program has helped me tremendously and I have not had to go to the food pantries because the card to pay for groceries has helped so much.” 

After six months, the impact went beyond food access. She shared that, because of the nutritional support she had received and the resources that helped her access fresh fruits and vegetables, she had lost 20 pounds and enjoyed trying new recipes from the cooking classes. 

She said Project Bread had a “very positive impact in my life.” She added, “I am so grateful for Project Bread...it helped bridge the gap.”

Another testimonial, this time from a summer program coordinator who worked with our Child Nutrition Outreach Program team, which oversees our work in Summer Eats and school meals:

Summer Eats meals [which Project Bread helps meal providers to deliver] meet a real need in this community, and in many other communities like it. For working parents, providing breakfast and lunch during the summer is not always possible, so knowing that nutritious meals are available is a major resource.

- Lukas Karagiorgos, Youth Center Coordinator, Summer Eats Site Supervisor, Franklin Field, Boston Housing Authority

And here is a note from one of the counselors on our FoodSource Hotline team:  

This month, I connected with a very sweet gentleman from Bedford MA. He's in his late 60s and was trying to apply online on his own, but he was getting turned around by how some of the questions were worded.  

We were able to check if he was eligible for SNAP and assist him in applying on the spot over the phone. He is struggling to keep enough food in the house because his budget is stretched so tight. He was very happy that we could make it easier by taking care of the application and answering some of the clarification questions that he had about the SNAP program.

Odysseys Unlimited President Bruce Epstein at the Walk for Hunger, alongside his wife Becky, Chairperson of the Charitable Giving Committee

OU: How does Odysseys Unlimited’s partnership with Project Bread help your organization do what you do? 

Sam: Odysseys Unlimited is one of Project Bread’s most valuable partners. The support of the company and its staff is crucial to helping Project Bread deliver services to those facing hunger.  

For the past 12 years, Odysseys Unlimited staff have played a critical role in the success of Walk for Hunger, working as a team to share the cause with their family and friends and to raise funds to fight hunger in Massachusetts. Each year, rain or shine, a terrific group joins us, and this year Odysseys raised $16,300 as part of the event!

The Walk for Hunger has been held every year since 1969, making it the longest-running pledge walk in the United States.

For the past three years, Odysseys Unlimited has also helped Project Bread to deliver high-quality, professional development trainings to more than 700 school nutrition staff annually at no cost. Not only do these trainings engage kids in meal development and planning at their schools, they provide nutrition staff with critical skill-building support so they are better able to develop and serve healthy meals to thousands of students statewide.  

In addition to longtime investment in Project Bread’s programs and the Walk for Hunger investment, Odysseys Unlimited has also been a partner to us in difficult times. During the government shutdown in the fall of 2025, Odysseys Unlimited staff showed their support by attending Project Bread briefings focused on the SNAP crisis and the impact on the changes at the federal level on our neighbors and community members in Massachusetts. We appreciated that partners like Odysseys Unlimited were there!  

OU: How can readers who want to help with Project Bread’s mission get more information? 

Sam: Project Bread provides lots of opportunities to learn more and to get involved via our website: https://projectbread.org or keep up to date on social media: @projectbread.