The Champlin Foundation recently announced its second batch of grants from its 2023 awards, and both the East Bay Food Pantry (EBFP) and Linden Place were beneficiaries.

The EBFP will be receiving $51,015 to resurface the floors at their facility, located at 532 Wood St. The expansive space hosts both a food pantry and a thrift shop, with the thrift shop proceeds supporting their efforts at battling local food insecurity.

Last year, the EBFP served 2,035 food-insecure individuals in 1,006 households, a 13% increase over the year before. In addition to food distribution at their Bristol location, they also deliver food to the homebound, supplement meals for children when school is closed, provide supplementary food and toiletries for seniors, and provide nutrition education to help clients make healthy food choices for their families.

“We are so grateful to the Champlin Foundation for their generous grant to help us complete a much-needed capital project,” said EBFP Executive Director Emily Mushen. “The grant funds will allow us to resurface our food pantry and thrift store floors, creating a safer, cleaner environment for our guests.”

Preserving the oldest structure at Linden Place
The Champlin Foundation has also awarded $30,000 to Linden Place for the preservation of the 18th Century Summer House, located at the back of the gardens. The Summer House is the earliest structure on the Linden Place estate, and was originally located on the estate of Charles DeWolf, the father of George DeWolf, who built Linden Place.

This small, decorative building was meant to impress and entertain visitors and is a surviving example of the efforts that the rising elites of the New Republic undertook to show off their wealth and emulate the nobility of Europe. The Summer House was eventually moved to the Linden Place estate in the late 1880’s, during the time that Samuel Pomeroy Colt owned the property, likely because Charles DeWolf’s home was destroyed by fire.

Today, this building not only represents a significant time in Bristol, and U.S. history, it remains one of only two surviving such structures in Rhode Island; the other being at Redwood Library in Newport.

“We are thrilled and grateful for the very generous support of The Champlin Foundation for the preservation of our Summer House,” said Susan Battle, the Executive Director of Linden Place. “Funds from the grant will be used for extensive necessary exterior and interior repairs. When this restoration work is complete, visitors will be able to enjoy the Summer House as a garden retreat, just as the family did years ago.”