The Greater Boston Food Bank

Food Security

The Greater Boston Food Bank operates from the 117,000-square-foot Yawkey Distribution Center in South Boston. This is where 109 million pounds of healthy food passes through before being distributed across Eastern Massachusetts through more than 600 partner agencies and direct distribution sites.

Support During A Pandemic

Food Distribution and Community Impact

As 2020 dawned over our great nation, no one could imagine the virus that would befall our world, changing it forever. Like everyone else, The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) had to re-imagine our capabilities to meet the incredible rise in demand. In early February, GBFB established a COVID-19 Response Team. They were prepared for the onslaught with a comprehensive and well-organized plan and the ability to be innovative and pivot to meet the urgent and immediate needs of the Eastern Massachusetts community.

The Cause

End hunger across Eastern Massachusetts by providing residents in need the healthy food and resources they need to thrive.

The Support

$50,000 in funding from Blue Trident Foundation was given to ensure hundreds of thousands had access to nutritious food as Eastern Massachusetts recovers from the pandemic.

The Impact

Greater Boston Food Bank increased their pre-pandemic weekly food distribution average of 1.3 million pounds to 2.5 million pounds; distribution remains at this heightened level today.

Charity In Action

Accomplishments During the Pandemic

Distributed 98 million pounds of healthy food, 68 million of which were distributed in just seven months (March through September 2020).
Implemented new distribution models such as drop-shipping, in which food is shipped directly from vendors to agencies.
Since the food never passed through GBFB’s warehouse, it freed up space and person power, enabling them to maximize their efforts and ship more food. Using drop-shipping they provided 5.8 million pounds of food to the community.
Established a Business & Data Analytics Team, which will capture key data on GBFB agencies and clients, as well as service and census data, to influence public policy and steer programming.