Photo: Mike Macklin/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Mayor Michelle Wu visited the Greater Boston Collaborative Food Access Hub on Monday for a one-year progress update on the facility’s work.
The 27,000-foot warehouse was established to address food insecurity in the Greater Boston area, feeding families in need of meals. The space is managed by the YMCA of Greater Boston in partnership with Mass General Brigham, the City of Boston’s Office of Food Justice, and 8 other anti-poverty, food access, and food recovery organizations.
Mayor Wu spoke about the necessity of addressing food insecurity and that feels the federal government has only made this organization more necessary.
“Last year in 2024, it was 47% of Boston residents who lacked reliable access to healthy food at some point in time, the highest on record,” Wu said. “Since then, costs have continued to rise and instead of providing relief, the federal government, the regime in place has chosen to use hunger as a political bargaining chip.”
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Since opening, the hub has distributed 1.7 million pounds of food to those in need, which is the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million meals. The organization was also able to recover 164,000 pounds of food that would have otherwise been sent to landfills.
Wu shared her gratitude for the facility’s partners, allowing so many to be fed over the past year, despite the federal government’s delays in funding SNAP benefits.
“Here in Boston, we believe in taking care of our neighbors, and we will do whatever it takes to make that happen,” Wu Said. “Well before this White House began its assault on cities across the country, we got to work with partners like the YMCA and Mass General Brigham to ensure that families in Boston wouldn't go hungry.”
More information regarding the Greater Boston Collaborative Food Access Hub can be found here.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin reports.