On a cool October evening, Food For Free’s staff, family, friends, volunteers, and community partners gathered at MIT’s iconic Walker Memorial building in Cambridge for our Party Under the Harvest Moon. This annual event is a celebration of our work, a time to connect with friends and colleagues, a fundraiser, a reminder of the strength and generosity of our community, and this year, it was also an awards ceremony. We were honored and grateful to welcome over 200 attendees to our biggest night of the year.
Inside Morss Hall, tables were covered with tablecloths in Food For Free’s green and gold, and each one was adorned with stunning bouquets of yellow and red flowers. These arrangements were generously donated by Encore Boston Harbor and, in a nod to our commitment to sustainability, were repurposed from earlier Encore events. The lovely atmosphere was enhanced by live music from Bubble Wave, a Boston-based Neo Reggae band.
Guests enjoyed platters of crudités, cheese, and crackers, alongside a bar featuring fall spiced sangria and beer from Cambridge Brewing Company and Aeronaut Brewing Company. Volunteer catering assistants worked with our wonderful caterer, Something Savory Catering, to pass trays of warm appetizers like plantains with truffle ketchup and Jamaican cocktail patties. Food For Free volunteers also ran the check-in table, raffle, and wine toss stations—both new features this year.
The raffle replaced our traditional silent auction, offering an accessible and exciting way to engage guests. Prizes included 50 monogrammed cards from local stationary store Albertine Press, two signed and framed Shepard Fairey prints, a night at Encore Boston Harbor with dinner for two, a private tour and tasting for four at the Formaggio Cheese Cave, and more. Guests received 20 tickets for $10 and eagerly tried their luck.
The wine toss, sponsored by our Board of Directors, brought a playful twist. Similar to a carnival ring toss, guests aimed plastic rings at cones to win wine bottles. The game proved challenging but fun, with laughter filling the room.
Biogen and the Biogen Foundation sponsored a table highlighting the importance of providing culturally familiar foods to those we serve. Biogen has generously provided Food For Free with an additional grant this year to fund the purchase of culturally familiar foods for our programs when we aren’t able to source them via donation or food rescue.
As the room began to fill and the party got started, our speaking program began, emceed by Food For Free’s own Dominic Carter. Dom, who has been on our team since 2021 and has made countless food pickups and deliveries to our community partners, brought humor and heartfelt stories to the stage as he shared how working with Food For Free evolved from being just another delivery job into a mission to bridge food gaps and foster genuine relationships with community partners.
We were honored to hear from Sarah Gallop, director of the Office of Government and Community Relations at MIT, and Paul Andrew, vice president of Public Affairs and Communications at Harvard University, who reflected on a decade of partnership with Food For Free. Lisa Robinson, director of the Office of Food Access and Healthy Communities for the City of Somerville, and Zach Goldhammer, director of Engagement & Partnerships at the Cambridge Community Center, also shared inspiring stories about the impact of our work in their communities.
After a break for more mingling, drink refills, and group photos in front of our step and repeat banner, it was time for our first ever awards ceremony. For this first year, we decided on three awards.
The Janet Murray Memorial award honors a dedicated individual in the food justice space. Like Janet (formerly the Executive Director of Food For Free), this individual stands for justice, dignity, and community, and is dedicated to ensuring that all people in their community have access to healthy food, regardless of age, income, or ability.
This year, the award was given to Elaine Mendes, Pastor at the Revival International Center of Chelsea. Food For Free staffer Alex Gladwell had this to say about the choice:
“It was an incredible honor to present Elaine Mendes with the first annual Janet Murray Memorial Award…Like Janet, Elaine stands for justice, dignity, and community. Her dedication to her friends and neighbors in Chelsea in calling and striving for equitable food access is something that deserves celebrating. Food For Free is grateful to support the work of Elaine and her committed team at the Revival International Center. Thank you for all you do in ensuring healthy foods are accessible to your community. Like Janet, Elaine truly is an inspiration.”
The Volunteer of the Year award honors an individual who has dedicated their free time to volunteering at Food For Free’s programs. This person embodies Food For Free’s values, and aids in our mission of providing healthy and fresh food to individuals in our community.
This year, the award was given to Sean Barry, who has volunteered over 100 hours in 2024. Sean is a dedicated and reliable volunteer for all of our programs, and is always the first to sign up when we send out a last minute request for volunteers. He was even signed up to be a driver the morning after being recognized at the party, after we put out a call earlier that day. To top it all off, he is incredibly kind and fun to work with.
The Community Partner of the Year award honors an organization or institution who supports Food For Free’s mission to provide healthy food to those in our community. This partner not only aids Food For Free through financial support, but also through empowering our mission and uplifting our organization and mission.
This year, the award was given to Harvard University and accepted by Smitha Haneef, Managing Director of Harvard University Dining Services. Food For Free staff member Molly Hansen introduced this award by sharing these remarks:
“Ten years ago, Food For Free and Harvard University Dining Services developed a plan to help meet the needs of the community by donating bulk prepared food to local food programs. These prepared food donations were an essential starting place for what evolved into an even more effective individual frozen meal program that is now called Heat-n-Eats. Over the past decade, the Harvard University and Food For Free partnership has become a cornerstone in the fight against food insecurity in Greater Boston.”
Each awardee received a custom banana box trophy, creatively designed by Tod Hannemann. These sturdy, symbolic boxes are integral to our food transport efforts and we thought they were a fitting tribute.
CEO Jessica Cantin closed the evening, reflecting on her first year with Food For Free and thanking the many volunteers, attendees, sponsors, and staff who made the night possible. With raffle prizes distributed and flower arrangements and leftovers shared with guests, the event wrapped up in true Food For Free fashion with a lasting sense of community and gratitude, and no food waste.
The Party Under the Harvest Moon is our largest fundraising event of the year, and we were thrilled to raise over $140,000 this year. The majority of funds raised comes from our generous event sponsors.
Platinum Sponsors ($25,000):
- Biomed Realty/CoreGiving
- Alexandria Realty
- Harvard University
Silver Sponsors:
- Cambridge Savings Bank
- MIT
Bronze Sponsors:
- DivcoWest/Cambridge Crossing
- Biogen
- Harvard Federal Credit Union
- East Cambridge Savings Bank
- Encore Boston Harbor
- Berkshire Bank
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to this event’s success—the volunteers, attendees, sponsors, speakers, vendors, staff, friends, and especially our Events Manager, Eliza McDonough. Your support fuels our mission to ensure access to fresh, healthy food for all.
For more photos of this event, check out our Party Under The Harvest Moon webpage.