By Melissa Moore-Randall
The City of Revere has been a Just Eats program recipient since the height of the pandemic. Each week, Food For Free delivers 280 to 300 boxes of food for immediate distribution outside of City Hall to area residents.
According to Sarah Zhitnik of Food For Free, “The boxes are full of fresh produce and pantry staples, such as rice, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables, onions, and more. While the contents of each box changes week to week, the sense of community that comes together remains consistent. Developed during the pandemic to meet increased demand, Food For Free’s Just Eats program distributes 1,280 curated grocery boxes of food every week to food programs, such as food pantries, low-income housing sites, and community programs, for safe, nutrition-focused distribution. Through this program, Food For Free also distributes up to 27,500 pounds of bulk produce and shelf-stable food to community pantries and low-income housing sites each week.”
Alex Gladwell Senior Manager, Programs and Partnerships shares her enthusiasm for the success of the program and collaboration with the City of Revere.
“FFF’s Just Eats is designed to bridge the food access gaps within the community. Specifically, the box program aims to do such in the absence of certain infrastructure. For example, a location that does not have storage and/or staffing capacity to hold a market style pantry, but requires efficient access to food resources.”
“Our partners at Revere have turned the Just Eats box distribution into a great success in so many ways. From the simple innovation of setting up a table for recipients to exchange items they may not care for (culturally relevant food is extremely important- and having pre-packed boxes of food limits choice and relevance), to using this access point as an opportunity to connect directly with their community, the team at Revere Public Health are doing an exemplary work. Their success is highlighted through not simply the distribution of food, but the level of engagement that goes into it. Being a touch point of other resources available to residents highlights the importance of the intersectional approach in– the issue of food insecurity does not exist alone, there are many factors that interplay: housing, health, employment, utility costs, childcare, and the list goes on.”
“Food’s ability to bring together people, family, community, culture is an empowering thing– something I think we can all relate to. The work Revere is doing is a beautiful example of community coming together, working together, in support of one another. This work can not be done alone. Fighting food insecurity can not be done alone. Partnerships are key, and we very much value our partnership with the City of Revere and the Dept. of Public Health.”
As one of the nation’s first food rescue organizations, Food For Free now serves more than 150,000 Massachusetts residents who are food insecure and distributes over 6.2 million pounds of nutritious fresh and prepared foods annually.
The food distribution occurs every Friday at 1:30 p.m. There is a community table set up to allow for an exchange of items in case residents wish to remove items from their boxes for other neighbors to enjoy.
