BOSTON
- Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Office of Food
Access today announced programs and resources for individuals and families
in need of food this summer. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 public
health emergency and the closing of Boston Public Schools (BPS), the City
of Boston has provided more than two million free meals at youth and adult
meal sites at 68 sites across the City through a partnership between BPS,
Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF), Boston Housing Authority
(BHA), YMCA, and other community organizations.
"Our
work in providing food during the COVID-19 public health emergency is a
great example of our City coming together to support our residents and
their biggest and most immediate needs," said Mayor Walsh. "We
look forward to continuing to meet residents' food needs during the summer
and beyond, while increasing their purchasing power and supporting our
local economy."
With
the launch of these new programs and services for the summer, adult meal
sites opened in response to COVID-19 will stop services on Friday, July 3.
The City of Boston will continue offering meal sites for youth throughout
97 locations opening on July 6, 2020, including sites in Boston Public
Schools, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, Boston Housing Authority,
YMCA and community-based organizations. BPS will continue providing meals
delivery to students who regularly receive door-to-door transportation. As
COVID-19 continues to impact the City of Boston, the following efforts are
underway to support individuals and families in Boston experiencing food
insecurity:
Summer Eats 2020 to provide 97 youth meal sites:
On
July 6, 97 youth meal sites will open through the City of Boston's Summer
Eats 2020 program. Launched by Mayor Walsh in 2017, Boston Summer Eats, in
partnership with Boston Children's Hospital, provides nutritious breakfast
and lunch at no cost to Boston youth 18 and under during the summer months.
No ID or registration is required. Unlike previous years where many youth
meal sites were limited to participants in summer programming, this year
all sites are open to all youth in the City of Boston. For locations,
please visit here.
Support from the Boston Resiliency Fund:
The
Boston
Resiliency Fund (BRF) has granted over $13 million to organizations
devoted to helping Bostonians with access to food and other basic needs.
The BRF's $2 million of contributions to the Greater Boston Food Bank have
supported the distribution of enough food for 1.2 million meals, with a
portion of that funding helping to establish a City program that has
delivered over 375,000 pounds of food to public housing and senior
households. Another BRF grantee, Fresh Truck, has delivered almost 28,000
fresh produce boxes. Organizations receiving funding that will support food
access this summer include:
- Funding for Mass Farmers Market
will provide access to farm fresh local fruit and vegetables for
families, seniors, and individuals this summer. The program will
provide weekly coupons to those in need regardless of immigration
status, while supporting the local economy and urban agriculture. A
map of farmers markets in the City, days and hours of operation, and
available payment methods can be found here.
- Funding for Fair Foods to
continue providing perishable vegetables, fruit and bread for free at
community organizations in East Boston, Dorchester and Allston
- Funding for Fresh Truck to
expand their Fresh Air Market sites to more than 15 Boston sites in
Hyde Park, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Charlestown, and other
neighborhoods around the city. Fresh Air Markets are also an eligible
vendor for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)
- Funding for Project Bread
will develop and implement a public awareness campaign to promote
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment and
utilization, targeting SNAP gap households and other eligible but
unenrolled families. These funds will provide operational and
additional language support to the FoodSource Hotline to meet the increased
demand on SNAP applications and train community-based organizations
and health centers to screen for SNAP eligibility and support with
applications
Boston Housing Authority to issue RFP for $3 million in
food distribution:
- The Boston Housing Authority
(BHA), in partnership with the City of Boston, has issued a request
for proposal for qualified firms to distribute up to $3 million worth
of meals to BHA sites across the city. The proposed food distribution
program envisions daily distribution of varied and culturally relevant
meals, Monday through Friday, at BHA sites around the city.
- Leveraging federal aid, the new
initiative will help address a variety of short- and long-term
nutritional needs for low-income families in Boston's public housing communities.
The funding is expected to help finance logistical help to feed up to
430,000 meals to 4,100 extremely low-income households through
December 2020.
- Since the beginning of the
COVID-19 public health emergency, BHA, the City of Boston, and many
private partners have stepped up efforts to provide much-needed meals
to low-income communities facing economic hardship and food
insecurity, and this investment is expected to help BHA and the City
to streamline these efforts.
With
the launch of these new programs and services, adult meal sites opened in
response to COVID-19 will stop services on Friday, July 3. Adults accessing
these sites are also encouraged to utilize existing resources including the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and
Children (WIC) program. For Information on eligibility and applications,
please call the Project Bread Food Source Hotline at 1-800-645-8333. A list
of food pantries can be found at www.gbfb.org/need-food/
and resources will be available through the Office of Food Access at boston.gov/food.
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