FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333):
NORTH SHORE – From the Project Bread website: Project Bread is the leading statewide anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts. Beginning in 1969 with the first Walk for Hunger, the nonprofit focuses on driving systemic change to ensure people of all ages have reliable access tohealthy food. The nonprofit engages residents, elected officials, and businesses to act against hunger so everyone in the Commonwealth has reliable access to food.
Sharon Johnson, Assistant Director of Project Bread’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program, explains how the program works and how all children can receive free meals during the summer of ’23.
WHY: Food is a basic human right, but unfortunately even before COVID-19 hunger was a pervasive problem. Pre-pandemic, 1 in 12 households and 1 in 11 households with children in Massachusetts experienced food insecurity,defined as a lack of certainty that food will last before being able to afford more. In December 2020, numbers nearly doubled as 1 in 6 households and 1 in 5 households with children across the Commonwealth were food insecure,disproportionately impacting communities of color with 1 in 3 Black and Latino/a households struggling with enough to eat.
As the health and economic crisis continues, so does Project Bread’s work. The latest data from early January 2023shows that nearly 1 in 6 households and 1 in 5 households with children in Massachusetts are currently food insecure,leaving us back where we were in 2020.
HOW: Project Bread connects people to financial resources to purchase their own food and/or find reliable access to no-cost food locally. Strategies include:
• Advocacy: Project Bread works with legislators and other elected officials as well as in partnership with government agencies, including the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). In collaboration with the DTA, the nonprofit works to increase access to and participation in federal nutrition programs, such as SNAP and Pandemic EBT cards. The nonprofit has also successfully lobbied for the extension of USDA waivers allowing universal free school meals during the pandemic, first until the end of summer 2020, then through the end of the calendar year, and throughout the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. Statewide, Project Bread led the campaign to include free school meals in the FY23 state budget and launched the ongoing Feed Kids campaign to pass legislation that would enable free meals for all students permanently.
• Hunger Action Team: Project Bread engages over 1,500 people who self-identify as advocates along with key
stakeholders, to promote food security in Massachusetts through policy, research and convenings. During this time, the team has increased frequency of Hunger Advocate e-blasts and mobilized out of state contacts to inform and promote policy solutions at the state and federal level to advance systems change.
• FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333): Project Bread’s toll-free FoodSource Hotline is the only comprehensive information and referral service in Massachusetts for anyone facing hunger or needing food assistance. The Hotline currently serves as the resource recommended by the DTA and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for residents seeking help with food access in the wake of COVID-19. Counselors can assist callers in more than 180 languages. Hours: Monday-Friday: 8am-7pm. Saturday: 10am-2pm.
• School Nutrition Work: Project Bread works to ensure children have year-round access to food through school and summer meal programs. As part of a long-term partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Project Bread is working to support critical meals for students such as implementing school breakfast, improving school lunch meal quality, and supporting school nutrition staff with resources and training year-round.
• Investing in Local Solutions: Project Bread awarded more than $469,974 in grants during the 2021 – 2022 school year and summer 2022 to support operations and equipment needs for academic and summer meal sites across the state. We’ve awarded more than $680,000 to community organizations supporting food access and nutrition resources for their neighborhoods since 2021. And our 2022 Commonwealth joint fundraiser during the Walk for Hunger provided peer to peer raised funds to 36 organizations.
• Health Care Partnerships: In April of 2020, Project Bread launched a new partnership with MassHealth’s flex
services program and health centers to provide support to patients with critical health issues exacerbated by food
insecurity. This innovative program addresses hunger as a social determinant of health, providing patients with
access to healthy food resources and nutrition education. In the 2+ years since launching, the Health Care
Partnerships team has served over 7,600 clients referred by health centers.
WHO: Project Bread connects people who don’t have enough to eat with reliable access to healthy food every day. This work informs the nonprofit’s advocacy priorities for city, state and federal policies toward a Massachusetts where hunger is permanently solved. The nonprofit employs over 80 full-time staff members and was named by the Boston Business Journal’s as one of 2023’s Best Places to Work.
WHERE: Project Bread, located in East Boston, partners with hundreds of anti-hunger/anti-poverty organizations
throughout the state.
CONNECT: Find Project Bread on social media: Facebook (@projectbread); Twitter (@projectbread); Instagram
(@projectbread) For more information, visit: www.ProjectBread.org
