Terence Linehan: Honoring a Decade of Work

Meals On Main Street (MOMS) wouldn't be possible without the tireless dedication of community members who give their time and money to help us continue to give back. So before he moves to Colorado to start a new chapter, we wanted to highlight and honor the work and dedication of a man who has made MOMS his mission.

This year at our Swing Into Summer fundraising Gala, we'll be honoring Terence Linehan. Terence has worked with MOMS since 2013, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2014, and has been the Board President since 2017.

A Tradition of Giving Back

Terence credits his family's strong religious background as a driving force to give back to his community. Despite not being particularly affluent, his family consistently engaged in volunteer activities as a way to contribute to their community.

When Terence grew up and had children, he wanted to teach the same lessons his parents taught him. “I always looked out for opportunities to volunteer, and then, when I had kids of my own, we were in a better place financially than I was as a kid. And I want my kids to understand the importance of giving back to the community.”

For a long time, they worked with POTS—a non-profit in the Bronx affiliated with their church—on holidays to serve food to those who didn’t have a place to go.

Joining MOMS

When Terence and his wife heard about MOMS, they began to split their time between MOMS and POTS since MOMS was right around the corner. His wife said, "We've been doing all this stuff in the city. [MOMS] is right next door. These are people we may know. Let's do something close to home. And it might enable us to do even more because it's so close."

When Terence was making a donation to MOMS, he had a chance meeting with Pat Hart, a respected Board member. Seeing the potential in Terence, Pat suggested he consider joining the board– a proposal that took a bit of convincing But by March 2014, Terence finally accepted, and he has been a committed and vital board member ever since.

Feeding the Hungry

"I'm interested in helping feed hungry people."

This was how Terence introduced himself when he first entered MOMS. Since that humble beginning, he has helped usher in a substantial period of growth and stuck with it through thick and thin, taking the role of president of the board and steering it through some of its most difficult times.

“I've learned over the years there’s a really fine line between being on one side of the table and handing out the food and the other side of the table in needing the food. You never know what's going to happen to people. You've seen it in this economy where people you know lose their job, and now they're on the other side. It's being able to help people and do good that keeps you coming back.”

Growth

While Terence has been a board member, MOMS has undergone incredible growth and change.

“When we started, we were six people on the board. We had a budget of around $250,000, for the whole program for the year, and we had 13 people on staff. I don't even think we had one full-time staff member at the time. Now we've got bills, our budget is close to $2 million. The program has grown significantly. And it's really met a critical need in Port Chester.”

This growth in these last years is especially impressive, considering how difficult COVID was for most non-profits. Terence balanced his job of distributing vaccines with steering MOMS through the crisis, partnering with other non-profits to best serve the community with what MOMS has to offer.

Looking Forward

But the difficult times are in no way over, and Terence hasn't stopped thinking about the future.

“If you look at the current situation…the demand for food, for people who need it, is going through the roof. And so we're trying to expand our footprint to reach as many people as possible, and take the success that we've had with the mobile pantry, and try to bring that to other places, show people how to do it, let them do it on their own so that we can feed as many people as possible.”

What Terence Wants People To Know About MOMS

Terence has given a decade of his life to MOMS, and his work has touched many lives. “The need is always going to be there. As hard as we try, people always need to eat. So if you've got something to spare, this is a great place to put time, treasure, or talent to use and give back to those in need.”

Come celebrate Terence’s work and give to the community he cares about at the Swing Into Summer Gala on June 9th. Your support helps build our community through food.