Food drive in honor of Dagle to be held Friday for struggling pantries

East Lyme — Five years ago, Ann Dagle dropped off some money at The Shack and Flanders Donut & Bake Shop with notes saying to please use the money to “pay it forward” with free meals in honor of her late son, Brian, on his birthday.

She had been struggling with what to do on that day, when she thought to herself, “What would Brian be doing?” She said he’d probably be at The Shack having his favorite breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and corned beef hash, which he used to have before lacrosse or football, or having doughnuts at Flanders.

The idea took off, with people also contributing to pay for other people’s meals, and the “pay it forward” event became a tradition on Brian’s birthday, which is April 2.

“It helps me so much on that day to just think of all the people having a meal and maybe saying Brian’s name and talking about him,” she said.

The Dagles are the founders of The Brian Dagle Foundation, an organization “dedicated to the healing of grieving adults as well as community education on suicide prevention and awareness.” Their son, Brian, died by suicide in 2011 at age 19.

The foundation offers support groups, educational resources and community discussions on suicide prevention and grief support and in 2018 opened Brian’s Heal

ing Hearts Center for Hope & Healing on Main Street.

This year, Dagle realized that it’s been five years since she started the “pay it forward” idea, and decided to add something new this year and organize a food drive on Good Friday to help struggling food pantries.

The food drive, to benefit the East Lyme Food Pantry, will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at The Shack Restaurant at 324 Flanders Road in East Lyme. People can donate any nonperishable food items that the Dagles will deliver to the pantry at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Niantic. People with questions can email ann@brianshealinghearts. org.

Dagle said Brian would have liked the “pay it forward” idea and the food drive. “He was all about helping friends and people and strangers, and so I think he would really think that it was a good idea, especially now more than ever,” she said.

With food pantries hurting this year and people having the day off for Good Friday, she said it made perfect sense to the Dagles to honor their son this way.

“That day for us is always a tough day no matter but I get a little smile every once in a while just thinking that I’m able to do something good,” she said.

More information about the Brian Dagle Foundation is available at brianshealinghearts.org.