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About Us

The Greater Boston Food Bank's mission is to help end hunger in eastern Massachusetts.
To achieve our mission, The Food Bank feeds more than 320,000 people annually in nine counties in eastern Massachusetts. They're poor to middle-class people who can't make ends meet. They're our friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

The Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and one of the largest food banks in the country. We distribute approximately 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually to a network of more than 600 member hunger-relief agencies. We are a trusted and efficient resource for these local food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless and residential shelters, youth programs, senior centers, and day-care centers, providing the food they need to feed the hungry. Still, the need for food is growing in the 190 communities we serve. That's why we need your help.

Founded in 1981, The Food Bank is part of America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. We employ more than 60 people and benefit from the services of more than 10,000 volunteers annually to acquire, inspect, sort, warehouse, and distribute large quantities of food and grocery products. The Food Bank operates out of a 60,000 square-foot facility in the Roxbury/Newmarket section of Boston. Since 1996, our food distribution has grown nearly 300%, and we'll soon need to enlarge our warehouse to keep pace with demand.

We acquire food in many ways--food industry product donations, corporate and group food drives, individual food donations, and financial contributions that enable us to buy even more food. The Food Bank receives most of its donated food in partnership with retailers such as Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, Roche Bros., Whole Foods Market, and Shaw's Supermarkets. We actually help retailers solve a major business and environmental problem, accepting large quantities of good food that might have been overproduced, incorrectly labeled or packaged, or that is simply not selling well.

We also receive surplus food from retailers, restaurants, caterers, hotels, corporate cafeterias, and universities through Second Helping, a prepared and perishable foods rescue program. The Food Bank serves as a unique intermediary, a clearinghouse that connects and fulfills the needs of food industry donors, hunger-relief agencies, and, most importantly, our region's hungry citizens.
In addition to Second Helping, The Food Bank offers three other direct service programs targeted at underserved populations. Our Kids Cafes, operated in partnership with local Boys & Girls Clubs, serve nutritious meals five days a week to more than 1,000 disadvantaged children. Our Brown Bag program provides families and seniors with 15-pound, supplemental bags of nutritious groceries once a month. And our Perishables program delivers perishable foods, such as fresh produce and dairy products, to Boston Housing Authority (BHA) developments once a month.