On May 28, the Brookline Food Pantry (BFP) expanded to a second site at 55A Egmont Street, in a community room managed by the Brookline Housing Authority (BHA).

Many community organizations came together to support this new site, which is focused on providing healthier, nutritious alternatives for busy, low-income families who reside in and around the Egmont and Trustman Housing Authority buildings. The site is focused on residents in public housing but is open to all low-income residents on Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. BHA is providing the space and cleaning services in-kind.

BFP Director Rene Feuerman reported, “Within the first few weeks of opening more than 50 new households registered to receive free food which shows how great the need is in town. Many seniors and working adults with young children expressed how helpful it is to have a site near where they live.”

“The Brookline Housing Authority is very pleased to partner with the Brookline Food Pantry to open a new food distribution site,” David Trietsch, the Board Chairman of BHA said. “This collaboration between our agencies is a great example of the impact that service organizations can have when they work together to help Brookline residents who are in need.”

The Brookline Community Foundation (BCF) provided a $15,000 grant to cover transitional food needs in the opening of the new site. With this grant, BFP will be able to cover their anticipated growth in food costs each week due to increased enrollment and will be able to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables and more frozen meats. Thanks to generous Brookline donors, BFP was able to purchase new cabinets, a doublewide refrigerator and a doublewide freezer to ensure that these new items stay fresh as long as possible.

Jenny Amory, Executive Director of BCF commented, “No Brookline resident should go hungry and we should all have secure access to food. BCF’s Understanding Brookline: A Report on Poverty shows that 13% of Brookline residents live at or below the poverty line and nearly 30% are economically insecure, so we are glad to be a partner and support the Brookline Food Pantry with their expansion to make fresh, healthy food more accessible to our neighbors.”

About:

The Brookline Community Foundations mission is to shine a spotlight on community needs, inspire philanthropy and award strategic grants to build a more vibrant, engaged and equitable Brookline.

The Brookline Food Pantry’s mission is to ensure none of our Brookline neighbors go to bed hungry.

The Brookline Housing Authority’s mission is provide low-income families, seniors, and people of all abilities with safe, decent, accessible, and affordable places to live in a community rich with opportunities.