On Fridays, you will often see dozens of cars lined up around Fountain of Grace’s food distribution site, located below the Canton-based church. Hundreds of residents from surrounding towns, both active and non-congregation members, pull up one by one to receive boxes of food from Food For Free’s Just Eats program. The boxes, which include a mix of produce and shelf-stable food sourced through Just Eats with additional produce and meat added, have become a lifeline for area individuals and families, including a large population of Haitian, Cape Verdean, Caribbean, Nigerian and Latinx communities, facing food insecurity.

Communities of color have faced higher rates of food insecurity during and post-pandemic. Here at Food For Free we believe that having consistent access to healthy food is a fundamental right, and we do our best to identify and meet the needs of our community through innovation and partnerships. Developed during the COVID-19 crisis to meet increased demand, Food For Free’s Just Eats program distributes 1,280 curated grocery boxes and 27,500 lbs. of bulk foods every week to food programs, such as food pantries and low-income housing sites, for safe, nutrition-focused distribution. 

Our food access partners select whether they want to receive grocery boxes or bulk food that they can combine into various offerings for community members. Deliveries frequently include culturally relevant favorites such as plantains, rice, and beans, and each curated grocery box includes enough food to make an estimated 21 meals. The program relies on 125 volunteer hours to pack boxes each week and delivers over 65,000 grocery boxes and an additional 1.4 million lbs. of bulk food annually. 

“Food and culture go hand-in-hand and so offering culturally relevant foods is critical to truly supporting people,” says Alex Gladwell, Senior Manager, Programs and Partnerships at Food For Free. “At Food For Free, we have the ability to purchase and obtain donated foods that Fountain of Grace food distribution site visitors want and need. We do our best to understand what foods are desired by the communities being served so that community members receive food that is not only familiar to them but also doesn’t go to waste.”

Since February 2022, Fountain of Grace has been a Just Eats bulk food recipient. Each week, Food For Free delivers 2 to 3 pallets of food which up to 10 church volunteers split up and add more produce and meat to pack into boxes. The grab and go food distribution opens on Fridays at noon during which an additional dozen volunteers help place packages into individual and family cars, serving approximately 275 households weekly. 

“This partnership has doubled our capacity to meet the increased demand in our community not only in terms of volume of food but also being able to offer balanced meals, which is such a blessing,” says Melinda Mitchell, a Deacon at Foundation of Grace who leads the church’s outreach ministry. “Too many of our neighbors are struggling to access affordable food right now. We could not support them without Food For Free’s help.” 

Outside of the church’s partnership with Food For Free, Fountain of Grace continues to help people of all faiths to access basic needs. Church volunteers can often be seen on the streets of Brockton and Boston hand delivering care packages with hygiene products, clothing, and snacks to homeless populations.

Thank you, Fountain of Grace, for your partnership in bringing fresh, healthy food to our community!

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At Food For Free, we believe fighting hunger is a team effort and we’re grateful for the support of our community to make the Just Eats program happen. To help us pack Just Eats grocery boxes for delivery at our Packing and Distribution Center in Somerville, sign up to volunteer here.