Somerville Woman Finds Good Use For Cuisinart Promotion

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Demonstrating not only charitable but notably clever initiative, Somervile’s Marla Wessland devised a way to donate almost $5,000 worth of pots and pans to the Somerville Homeless Coalition without, technically, spending a cent.

“This all started a year ago,” she told the Somerville Times, which broke the story. “When my 8-year-old daughter, Sara, who likes to collect things, learned about the Rachael Ray Dinnerware promotion at Star Market and Shaw’s.”

From September to December, Shaw’s offered a complimentary “Cuisinart Stamp” for every $10 spent at one of its stores. For example, 50 stamps could be exchanged for a 1-quart pan valued at $14.99.

Of course, $500 worth of groceries for a free $15 pan isn’t most people’s idea of a bargain. But once the Wesslands decided to donate their stamps, according to the STs, more than 50 like-minded residents learned about their cause and decided to pitch in. Evidently, those $10 stamps added up pretty quickly.

Mark Alston-Follansbee, executive director at the Somerville Homeless Coalition, told the source that such efforts aren’t just commendable, but crucial in this day and age.

“For many people, income has been flat for years, and expenses keep going up,” he said. “We know there are thousands of people in Somerville who don’t have enough to eat.”