Photo Credit: © Julian Fisher
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Cambridge in March, closing workplaces, schools, and food pantries alike, your support helped Food For Free to respond. By mid-March, we had launched a weekly delivery program to bring groceries to the most vulnerable people in Cambridge.
The program ran through the end of June, serving thousands of households. A few highlights:
• 19,438 deliveries to 2,284 different households over 15 weeks
• 810 volunteers donated 7,305 hours of service
• In the busiest week, 1,938 households served
Check out our photo gallery to see our volunteers in action.
School Meals
When the pandmic forced Cambridge to close schools in March, the Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) stepped up to the plate to make sure that families would still have enough to eat. Food For Free pitched in, providing volunteers to help CPS distribute meals at eight different locations, serving all of the district’s students. This effort distributed between 600 and 700 meals a week throughout the spring, and has continued all summer.
CPS will continue this program through September 4. You can learn more and see the list of sites here.
What’s happening now?
Home Delivery is huge! When we wound down the COVID-19 Grocery Program at the end of June, we encouraged qualified participants to apply for our ongoing Home Delivery program. These new participants have more than doubled the size of Home Delivery, bringing our client list to 360—more than twice the program’s previous size.
Summer Markets are happening at nine Cambridge housing sites. Across the sites, we distribute about 450 boxes of produce each week. The sites were identified as high-need areas when we looked at food access across Cambridge this summer, and are home to many of the families who participate in the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program.
What’s happening in the fall?
Food For Free is committed to serving the children and families in our community in ways that make sense. We’re currently working with the City of Cambridge to determine the best way to reach families with students in the public schools. Stay tuned for updates as we have them!
