Spoonfuls Spotlight: MetroWest
Spoonfuls’ first major geographic expansion came in 2016 with the addition of our first route in MetroWest. It served as a model for our expansion in other regions since (Hampden County in 2019 and Worcester County in 2022). Now six years later, in November 2022, we expanded our footprint in MetroWest once more with a second food rescue route serving five new vendor partners and nine new nonprofit partners, and allowing us to increase deliveries to most of our pre-existing partners in the region. We are so excited because that means we can keep even more good food out of landfills and ensure it helps feed people instead.
We’re grateful to everyone who has played a role in our food rescue operations in MetroWest, including our staff and boards, vendor and nonprofit partners, and dedicated funders like Foundation for MetroWest, MetroWest Health Foundation, Middlesex Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, and The Sudbury Foundation.
Get to know some of the organizations we’re working with below.
New Vendors in MetroWest
We’re excited to continue our longtime partnership with the Big Y! We’re now working with their Franklin location regularly in addition to stopping at their Walpole location once a week.
A partnership grows! We’ve been working with Boston Area Gleaners since 2017 to occasionally collect the crops that they’ve harvested, but were unable to distribute. With our new MetroWest route, we’ll be picking up from them their Acton location once a week!
The Medfield Brothers Marketplace joins our mix as another vendor partner! In Greater Boson, we also work with their Kendall Square location.
Envisioning a world where healthy food is accessible to everyone at any time, we’re glad to be partnering with Fresh Box Farms. We’ll be rescuing excess leafy greens from them once a week.
Joining our group of existing Roche Bros. pickups is their Millis location! Welcome aboard.
Check out all of our vendor partners.
New Nonprofit Partners in MetroWest
This branch, a part of YMCA of Central Massachusetts, offers all types of programming, from child care to swimming lessons to access to their wellness facility. Our deliveries help to expand their existing food program, offering more options to their community.
Eliot Community Human Services – Carbone Hall
ECHS provides community-based services to more than 50,000 individuals and families throughout Massachusetts. In the Spring of 2022, we began delivering to ECHS’ Harvard House location in Worcester County. We’re excited to expand our partnership with deliveries to their Carbone Hall location in Framingham.
Focusing on alleviating food insecurity in the town of Franklin, the additional food rescued and delivered by Spoonfuls helps Franklin Food Pantry to offer a wider selection of items to their clients.
Located in Milford, Massachusetts, the Milford Senior Center offers a variety of services, programs, and events with a focus on wellness. Spoonfuls’ deliveries help seniors visiting the center access the food they need.
The Milford Youth Center runs a free after-school program during the academic year and a summer camp during the summer. In early December, they launched their food program with support from Spoonfuls’ deliveries, which are currently reaching 16 families.
Spoonfuls’ has been working with Open Table to provide their guests with fresh, healthy food since 2021. Thanks to our expansion, Spoonfuls is able to bring even more food for their pantry, serving around 230 households per week, and bi-weekly dinner program, serving around 100 people each.
Spoonfuls began making deliveries to Project Just Because in 2018. With a move to a larger space in 2022, our MetroWest expansion has allowed us to increase the amount of rescued food we bring them at time when they’re increasing their operations. Read more on the blog.
Real Truth Pantry operates out of the Real Truth SDA Church. In addition to a traditional pantry, they prepare and deliver meals to shelters around their community.
Operating inside the St. Bridget Parish in Framingham, the St. Bridget’s Food Pantry operates three days a week, with around 40 families coming each of those three days. Spoonfuls’ deliveries of rescued food are helping to expand the pantry’s offerings.
United Way of Tri-County – multiple locations
Spoonfuls first began partnering with United Way of Tri-County (UWTC) with deliveries to the Pearl Street Cupboard & Cafe at Park in 2021. Thanks to the addition of our second MetroWest route, we have been able to increase the size of our weekly delivery to Pearl St. and begin deliveries to two other UWTC locations – Marlborough Community Cupboard and WHEAT Community Connections.
Check out our Nonprofit Partners page to see who else we’ve been working with in the MetroWest area.
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