YMCA, MBTA, city officials battling food insecurity
Deliver 1.6M meals to hungry families
An unlikely partnership has formed in an “all-hands-on-deck” effort to keep food on the table as 1 in 7 Massachusetts residents go hungry amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve delivered — in 114 days — 1.6 million meals to the children and families of our community,” YMCA of Greater Boston President and CEO James Morton said Wednesday, speaking from the Huntington Avenue headquarters where most of the food is packaged. “That would not have been possible without partnership. That would not have possible without us all working together to make sure that we do our best to end hunger in the city of Boston.
“It’s been an all-hands-on-deck set of circumstances,” Morton said.
The Y has teamed up with the Greater Boston Food Bank, MBTA and city and state officials as the demand for food has exploded across the commonwealth.
Massachusetts has seen a 53% rise in food insecurity since the pandemic struck and now ranks second in the nation for increased risk of food insecurity among children, according to a new report from Feeding America.
“One in 7 people, 1 in 5 children are now food insecure in the commonwealth,” said Carol Tienken, chief operating officer at the
Greater Boston Food Bank.
In June alone, the food bank distributed a historic 11.5 million pounds of food — nearly three times its pre-pandemic distribution levels.
“We’ve seen levels of food insecurity be exposed due in this pandemic that have been shocking to some, but to the leaders around this work … this is only uncovering inequities that have existed in our community for too long,” Boston Health and Human Services Chief Marty Martinez said.
Gov. Charlie Baker highlighted the effort, calling it a “terrific and unique partnership.”
The YMCA has packaged over 60,000 grocery bags to date — or more than 600,000 meals. The YMCA and the Greater Boston Food Bank have also prepared more than 1 million prepared meals for school-aged children that have been distributed at 60 sites across the city since the pandemic began.
Taking advantage of a dip in ridership on the T’s Ride paratransit service amid the pandemic shutdowns, the state tapped MBTA drivers and vehicles to help get food into the hands of those in need.
Ride drivers have delivered more than 12,000 grocery bags and nearly 60,000 school meals to Boston Public Schools students, Baker said.