A Network of Impact Delivers More

This holiday season ushers in the 10th anniversary of The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Community Investment initiative, which helps partner agencies better meet their local needs through capacity-building grants. Since 2013, the funding has helped enable food pantries across Eastern Massachusetts to expand and improve services, prioritize diverse and high-need populations, and deliver more healthy food throughout their communities. In just 10 years, annual grant funding has grown from $20,000 to more than $850,000.

This year, though, as we listened to our network’s needs, we knew we needed to adjust our approach a bit. Inflation, soaring food costs and growing food insecurity across the breadth of communities we serve – and our partners’ needs beyond food – demanded more. This time, we decided to make outright grants of $2,000 each to all of our partner agencies.

Typically, the GBFB Community Investment program requires agencies to apply for the annual grants early in the year. If their proposals are accepted, GBFB funds up to 50 percent of the program funds and the partner pays the balance. Thanks in part to our generous donors and funding support from the State of Massachusetts, we were able to provide this additional grant to all GBFB agencies in November. Each agency just had to submit a short Google form to request their grants and describe how they planned to use them.

“So, when you give to The Greater Boston Food Bank,” he adds, “you’re actually giving to a network that directly impacts 190 communities across Eastern Massachusetts, and feeds 600,000 people every month.”

The results – creative, thoughtful, impactful – are exceeding our expectations. As our partners tell us, the grants are helping to defray operational costs – utilities, staffing, transportation – and improving their clients’ choice of more non-food items, such as toiletries, baby products, cleaning products and toys. They’re helping to expand their food offerings to supplement what they are receiving from GBFB, from more fresh produce and other healthy choices to more holiday-specific and dietary and culturally responsive foods to meet their clients’ diverse needs. They’re helping to build infrastructure – freezers, carts, shelving – and even providing clients with financial assistance.

Our partners say it best: “Funds will be used to support people seeking help through our harm-reduction program and HIV/AIDS programs,” reports Brockton Area Multi-Service Inc. “Warm socks, hats, and gloves are extremely important in helping individuals struggling with addiction to stay alive during the colder months.”

“The funds will be spent on specialty food items, such as [those that are] gluten-free, organic and vegetarian, as well as culturally appropriate food for our Afghan families,” reports Acton Community Supper and Food Pantry.

“We’ll make holiday lunches more special for our guests,” says the Soup Kitchen of Provincetown. “We’ll add more specialty food items, flowers on the tables and gifts on Christmas Day.”

As Jonathan Tetrault, GBFB vice president of Community Impact explains, “We have ‘food’ in our name, but we’ve realized that it’s about much more than that. We see our role not only as providers, but increasingly as facilitators and supporters – as advocates on behalf of our food distribution partners across our region.”

“So, when you give to The Greater Boston Food Bank,” he adds, “you’re actually giving to a network that directly impacts 190 communities across Eastern Massachusetts, and feeds 600,000 people every month.”