GBFB Awards More than $850,000 in Grants to Network Partner Agencies

How does The Greater Boston Food Bank serve more clients, distribute more food, and reach more communities? It starts with supporting our community partners.

Since 2013, The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) has helped partner agencies better meet the need in their communities through a Community Investment Grant Program. In addition to funding mission-critical projects, the Community Investment Grant Program deepens connections with our nearly 600 agency partners. Over the last eight years, our available grants have grown from $20,000 in FY2013 to more than $850,000 in FY2022.

“This program continues to evolve as we recognize this is our opportunity to cause and effect change and to better meet the specific needs of our partner agencies and the communities they serve,” said Catherine D’Amato, GBFB President and CEO. “By investing in our essential partner agencies through grantmaking, we aim to target high populations of need and empower and equip them to dream bigger about the impact they can have in driving out hunger across Eastern Massachusetts.”

This past year our team reviewed the grant categories to deepen the capacity within the network and respond to the growing and changing needs of our communities. To be more inclusive in the process we also sought to incorporate partner input and to ensure GBFB’s community investments result in equitable and diverse efforts.

Focusing on improving equity
GBFB’s second annual report on food insecurity, equity and access in Massachusetts released in May 2022 revealed the sustained disparities and barriers in food access for communities of color, with Latinx and Black adults experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity. To help ensure our community investments result in equitable and diverse efforts, in FY2021, service to communities of color was added as a grant priority.

“Equity must remain a priority as we look towards the future of hunger relief efforts,” said Jonathan Tetrault, Vice President of Community Impact. “As our research shows, our neighbors across Eastern Massachusetts, particularly those of color and the LGBTQ+ community, continue to struggle to make ends meet as food costs are rising faster than they have in over 40 years. We remain hopeful about the impact our continued grantmaking efforts will have in supporting our essential network of partners and easing the burden of food insecurity.”

Funding hunger relief where it’s needed most
As food insecurity continues to rise, these grants are more essential than ever before because they help our partners expand their services, increase capacity, and deliver more healthy food to those in need, prioritizing diverse and high need populations throughout our service area. The grants fall in three main categories:

• Infrastructural: One-time funding for new capital expenditures that increase agency capacity (e.g., equipment, renovation of physical space, technology)

• Organizational: One-time funding for new operational costs that increase agency capacity (e.g., staff time, administrative needs)

• Transformational: Multi-year commitments to support the development of high impact agencies in identified areas of need (e.g., brick and mortar pantries, hub and spoke distributions)

FY22 Grant Recipients
Over the past year, we provided grants to agencies in two rounds. In Round 1, we awarded grants to 23 distribution, community, and strategic partners.

• Billerica Food Pantry – Billerica
• A Place to Turn – Natick (serving Ashland; Dover; Framingham; Holliston; Hopkinton; Hudson; Marlborough; Medway; Millis; Natick; Sherborn; Sudbury; Wellesley; Weston)
• Bedford Community Table Pantry – Bedford (serving clients from any community)
• Our Daily Bread – Taunton (serving Attleboro; Berkley; Bridgewater; Dighton; Fall River; Lakeville; Mansfield; Middleborough; North Attleborough; Taunton)
• NIC/Nantucket Emergency Food Pantry – Nantucket
• Rose’s Bounty – West Roxbury (serving Hyde Park; Jamaica Plain; Mattapan; Roslindale; West Roxbury)
• Centre Street Food Pantry – Newton (serving Allston; Brighton; Brookline; Needham; Newton; Waltham; Watertown; Wellesley; West Roxbury)
• Franklin Food Pantry – Franklin (serving Bellingham; Franklin; Medway; Millis; Plainville)
• Charity Guild Food Pantry – Brockton (serving Avon; Bridgewater; Brockton; Easton; Stoughton; Whitman)
• Old Colony YMCA – Stoughton (serving Avon; Brockton; Canton; Holbrook; Randolph; Sharon; Stoughton)
• Hockomock Area YMCA – North Attleboro (serving Attleboro; Bellingham; Canton; Fall River; Foxboro; Franklin; Mansfield; Norfolk; North Attleboro; Norton; Plainville; Seekonk; Sharon; Stoughton; Walpole; Wrentham)
• USCC/Christ the King – Mashpee (serving Barnstable County)
• Project Just Because – Hopkinton (serving clients from any community)
• Boston Missionary Baptist Community Center, Inc – Roxbury (serving Boston, Brockton; Everett; Randolph; Somerville)
• Selah Day Resource Center – Chelsea (serving Chelsea; East Boston; Everett; Revere)
• Voice of Tabernacle Multiservice Center – Mattapan (serving Boston)
• Veteran’s Assoc. of Bristol County, Inc. – Fall River (serving Attleboro; Berkley; Dartmouth; Dighton; Fall River; Freetown; New Bedford; Rehoboth; Seekonk; Somerset; Swansea; Taunton; Westport)
• Wellspring Multi-Service Pantry – Hull (serving Avon; Braintree; Bridgewater; Brockton; Cohasset; Halifax; Holbrook; Hull; Kingston; Marshfield; Middleboro; Norwell; Pembroke; Plymouth; Quincy; Randolph; Rockland; Scituate; Stoughton)
• Rosie’s Place/Pantry – Boston (serving Arlington; Belmont; Boston; Braintree; Bridgewater; Brockton; Brookline; Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham; Everett; Lawrence; Lexington; Lowell; Lynn; Malden; Marlborough; Medford, Melrose, Milton, Newton, Norwood; Peabody; Quincy; Randolph; Revere; Sharon; Somerville; Stoughton; Taunton; Waltham; Weston; Weymouth; Winthrop)
• MGH Revere HealthCare Center – Revere (serving Chelsea; East Boston; Everett; Lynn; Revere; Winthrop)
• P.A.C.E. Inc./Emergency Food Pantry – New Bedford
• YMCA of Greater Boston – Boston
• Beverly Bootstraps Food Pantry (Strategic Partner Grant) – Beverly (serving Beverly; Essex; Hamilton; Manchester; Wenham)In Round 2, we awarded grants to 6 strategic partners.
• Open Table Food Pantry & Community Meal – Maynard (serving Acton; Bedford; Billerica; Boxborough; Carlisle; Chelmsford; Concord; Framingham; Hudson; Lexington; Lincoln; Littleton; Lowell; Marlborough; Maynard; Natick; Stow, Sudbury; Waltham; Wayland; Westford)
• Family Pantry Damien’s Place – Wareham (serving clients from any community)
• The Open Door Food Pantry and Meals – Gloucester (serving Essex; Gloucester; Hamilton; Ipswich; Manchester; Rockport; Rowley; Topsfield; Wenham)
• Bread of Life Food Pantry – Malden (serving Chelsea; Everett; Malden; Medford; Melrose; North Reading; Reading; Revere; Saugus; Stoneham; Wakefield; Winchester; Winthrop)
• Acton Community Supper and Food Pantry – Boxborough (serving Acton; Boxborough; Carlisle; Concord; Littleton; Maynard; Stow; Westford)
• The Family Pantry of Cape Cod Corp – Harwich (serving Barnstable; Bourne; Brewster; Chatham; Dennis; Eastham; Falmouth; Harwich; Mashpee; Orleans; Sandwich; Truro; Wellfleet; Yarmouth)
• Boston Food Access Council – Boston

We were also proud to award multi-year, transformational grants to the following three agencies:

• Mystic Community Market – Medford (serving clients from any community)
• YMCA Southcoast/Full Plate Project – Dartmouth (serving Dartmouth; Fairhaven; Fall River; Freetown; Marion; Mattapoisett; New Bedford; Wareham)
• Our Neighbors’ Table – Amesbury (serving Amesbury; Boxford; Georgetown; Groveland; Hamilton; Merrimac; Newbury; Rowley; Salisbury; West Newbury)

Learn more about The Community Investment Grant Program and award recipients from prior years