39 Hunger-Relief Organizations Receive Over $500,000 in Grants from The Greater Boston Food Bank
Contact:
Catherine Drennan Lynn
press@gbfb.org
617.828.7422
39 Hunger-Relief Organizations Receive Over $500,000 in Grants from The Greater Boston Food Bank
Capacity Building Grants Enable Non-Profit Organizations to Provide More Healthy Food to Those in Need Across Eastern Massachusetts
BOSTON – April 6, 2021 – The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, announced today the distribution of over $500,000 in Capacity Expansion Grants to 39 hunger-relief organizations in 34 communities across Eastern Massachusetts. These annual grants are provided to support investments that enable GBFB partner-agencies to distribute more nutritious food to more people in need as they respond to the surge in food insecurity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our agency partners are our greatest resource and remain absolutely critical to our work, especially as we adapt in response to the historic need for food,” said Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of GBFB. “We’re excited and honored to continue with our grant program in order to support our partners with funding for essential capacity-building efforts.”
With this year’s grants, GBFB focused on prioritizing communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. U.S. Census polls have shown that 40% of Black and Latino families are struggling to put food on the table which is three times more likely than white families. Recognizing that more capacity-building investments are needed at non-profit organizations that serve communities of color, 32 of these grants to have been awarded to agencies serving communities of color as designated by American Community Survey.
Another factor taken into consideration this year is that many GBFB partners had to move their distributions outside to encourage social distancing. To accommodate requests for equipment to help with outside distributions in the winter months, seven of these grants were distributed at the beginning of 2021 to help winterize outdoor distributions.
In 2020, in lieu of the annual capacity-building grant program, GBFB pivoted in response to the pandemic to provide $1 million in emergency funds to all member agencies in the form of unrestricted grants to help all member hunger-relief organizations stay open and actively serving their communities.
“GBFB has distributed more than $1.1 million dollars through our annual capacity-building grant program since 2013, investing in infrastructure projects that can truly change an organization’s ability to serve their community,” explained Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO, GBFB. “When the pandemic hit, we saw how much these investments in our network of member agencies really helped, as our partners were able to scale up in an effort to keep up with the increased demand for emergency food.”
The capacity enhancing matching-grant program funds up to 50 percent of an approved application, with the balance paid by the partner agency. Applications were submitted for a range of capacity expansion projects, including walk-in freezers or coolers, refrigerated trucks, shelving, cooler bags, and power jacks.
2021 Grant Awardees:
American Red Cross DBA Arc Pantry, Boston
Angels Anonymous Inc., Fall River
Boys and Girls Club, Brockton
Brockton SDA Food Pantry, Brockton
Common Ground Café, Haverhill
Dedham Food Pantry, Dedham
Family Pantry Damien’s Place, Wareham *
First Baptist Church, Jamaica Plain
Food For Free, Cambridge
GGWO/Grace Ministries, Everett
Good Hope Inc., Lynnfield
Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center, Mattapan
Holbrook Ecumenical Food Pantry, Holbrook *
Interfaith Social Services, Quincy *
JFCS Family Table, Marblehead
La Colaborativa, Chelsea
Loaves & Fishes Pantry, Devens
Mass Military Support Foundation, Falmouth
Medfield Food Cupboard, Medfield
Mystic Community Market, Medford
Nam Vets Assoc. Cape & Islands Food Pantry, Hyannis
Neighbors In Need, Lawrence
Open Table Food Pantry, Maynard
Pilgrim Church Food Pantry, Dorchester
Rose’s Bounty, West Roxbury *
Salem Pantry, Salem
Salvation Army/Chelsea Pantry, Chelsea *
Selah Day Resource Center, Chelsea
South Boston Community Health Center, South Boston
St. Anthony of Padua Food Pantry, New Bedford
St. Stephen’s Food Pantry, Lynn
SVDP/ Sacred Heart Food Pantry, Middleborough
SVDP/Taunton, Taunton
The Family Pantry of Cape Cod Corp., Harwich *
The Open Door/Meals Program, Gloucester *
United Way of Tri-County/Pearl Street Cupboard, Framingham
USCC/Christ the King, Mashpee
Walpole Community Food Pantry, Walpole
YMCA of Greater Boston, Boston
* = Received Winterization Capacity Expansion Grant in January 2021
If interested in more information about specific grants or grantees, please reach out to GBFB at press@gbfb.org.
About The Greater Boston Food Bank:
The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and among the largest food banks in the country. In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, GBFB distributed the equivalent of nearly 82 million meals in 2020 through its network of 600 dedicated food distribution partners and programs in the 190 cities and towns across Eastern Massachusetts. A member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, GBFB’s mission is to end hunger here and it is committed to providing at least three healthy meals a day to everyone in need. For more information, visit us at GBFB.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@gr8bosfoodbank) and Instagram, or call us at 617.427.5200.