Heat-n-Eats: Two community volunteers pose for a picture at Food For Free’s Heat-n-Eats kitchen at Biogen in Kendall Square, where the nonprofit turns rescued prepared food into single-serve microwavable meals on October 19. — Photos courtesy of Food for Free.

Thanksgiving is a lavish feast for most people. But many go hungry on this holiday. As 1 in 3 Massachusetts households faces food insecurity, it is estimated that Bay Staters discard one million pounds of food per year. Food For Free – the Robin Hood of the Greater Boston emergency food system – is dedicated to evening out this disparity by picking up food that would otherwise go to waste and re-distributing it to those in need.

Food For Free is one of the oldest food rescue organizations in the nation. Founded by a group of volunteers in Cambridge in the 1980s, the nonprofit has grown over four decades to provide 6.25 million meals to 150,000 individuals in 27 Eastern Massachusetts communities annually.  The organization acquires rescued, donated, and purchased food from several sources, including grocery stores, farms, universities, hospitals, and corporate dining facilities, and delivers it to emergency food programs, schools and colleges, youth programs, and other programs that reach food-insecure individuals.

Just Eats: Corporate volunteers from Kymera Therapeutics add fresh produce and pantry foods to Just Eats grocery boxes along a production line at Food For Free’s Packing and Distribution Center in Somerville on May 29.

“We are addressing twin problems — food waste and food insecurity — and that’s something that affects everyone in every community,” says Jessica Cantin, CEO of Food For Free. “If you’ve ever cooked a Thanksgiving dinner you know that there will always be leftovers, or a surplus in this instance. Well, at Food For Free we work year-round to help ensure that no one needs to worry about where their next meal is coming from by creating partnerships and pathways to keep food out of landfills and bridge access gaps in local communities.”

Please consider including Food For Free in your upcoming nonprofit roundup this holiday season. As the leading food rescue and distribution organization in the region continues to deepen its roots in the community in the year ahead, they have a continued need for volunteers and support to ensure everyone in the community—regardless of age, income, or ability—has consistent access to nutrition.

Area residents are at the heart of Food For Free’s work and mission. Each week, nearly 200 volunteers roll up their sleeves at the nonprofit’s Somerville facility and their kitchen at Biogen’s headquarters in Kendall Square to curate tailored food boxes and pallets, deliver groceries, and package nutritious, microwavable meals to be transported to the organization’s 111 distribution partners. Providing food that is familiar and that meets cultural and dietary needs is important to Food For Free as the organization works to reach underserved populations in the Eastern Massachusetts community. 

Healthy Eats: Akbota Saudabayeva of Food For Free delivers a Healthy Eats home delivery grocery box filled with fresh produce, proteins, and pantry foods to a Cambridge resident on September 15.

Food For Free’s impact has been felt by individuals, families, school districts, and community centers across the region. To date in 2023, the nonprofit has:

• Rescued 17,000 lbs. of prepared food from dining halls and repackaged them into 44,000 single-serving frozen meals that are distributed to food-insecure populations through the Heat-n-Eats program.
• Distributed 70,200 grocery boxes and an additional 1,800,000 lbs. of bulk produce and shelf-stable food to community pantries and low-income housing sites through the nonprofit’s Just Eats program.
• Provided 2,311 student families with Weekend Eats Carrot Cards, reloadable debit cards, to purchase food that allows families to purchase food they know and like, when and where they want.
• Partnered with 11 host sites in Cambridge and Somerville to host pop up pantry-style School Markets that had 8,700 visits for distribution of fresh produce and pantry staples.
• Delivered 7,082 grocery boxes to 387 low-income seniors and people with disabilities, bringing boxes of food right to their doorsteps through Food For Free’s Healthy Eats program.

“Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year according to the Natural Resources Defense Council,” says Cantin. “We need the public’s support and partnership to do this work here.”

School Markets: A community volunteer stocks a table laden with pantry foods for a Food For Free School Market at Winter Hill Community School in Somerville on July 12.