Lunches for people in need, and talking to kids about race

NORTH

Lawrence has announced a $1 million expansion of its Grab-n-Go Restaurant Meals program, which helps local restaurants provide meals to food insecure residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The city will work with Groundwork Lawrence, a local environmental organization, to cater meals from local restaurants for $12 each and get them to residents who need home delivery. Interested homebound or quarantining residents can call 978-620-3550 to see if they qualify for meal delivery. Other residents can go to the city’s partner emergency food providers, including the YMCA, Bread & Roses, Lazarus House, and the Boys & Girls Club. “This pandemic has spared no one. It has brought our restaurants to their knees and shown how fragile our community’s food security is,” Mayor Daniel Rivera said. “So this only makes sense to support the restaurants and have them support the residents.”

WEST

On Jan. 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the Discovery Museum in Acton will host the latest installment of its online speaker series: “Talking to Kids About Race and Racism.” Moderator Tiziana Dearing from WBUR will interview Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College — a historically black liberal arts college for women located in Atlanta — who is a clinical psychologist and author of several books on race including ”Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Those interested can register for the free Zoom webinar by visiting discoveryacton.org.

SOUTH

Stonehill College in Easton has appointed social science and business administration scholar DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga as its new provost and vice president for academic affairs. Prior to beginning her work at Stonehill on Dec. 1, Agbényiga worked in similar roles at universities nationwide, including Maryland’s Bowie State University and the University of Texas. “I was drawn to Stonehill’s liberal arts academic environment and its focus on developing free thinking, open communication, and collaboration across diverse communities,” Agbényiga said. “There is a strong foundation at [Stonehill] and I look forward to building on the energy, commitment, and enriching discourse.”