Join us for a kick-off party
February 2, 2012
5-8 p.m.

190 Concord Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts
617-354-5700

Catering by chef Robert Harris of Season to Taste Catering.

Above, Dennis McCarthy, Julio Francisco, and Christian Oviedo stand aside our new truck. This truck will hold 6-7 pallets of food. Our old Hino held 4-5.

Below, a shot of the truck showing its liftgate in action. This truck was purchased with funds from the Clipper Ship Foundation, and a private family foundation (that wishes to remain anonymous).

Last June, Michael learned about Food For Free’s Home Delivery program. Now, thanks to your support, Michael gets food delivered right to his kitchen table every month. September’s box included three kinds of fresh fruit, and five different vegetables—20 pounds of produce in all—as well as meat, milk, juice, bread, oil, beans, and rice.

Home Delivery means that people like Michael—who are disabled or elderly and chronically ill—can still choose to cook their own meals. They can live independently, while getting the help they need to eat well and take care of their health.

Rachel lost her job three years ago after ten years as an engineer. Her husband, a programmer, lost his the following year, leaving them struggling to feed their two kids. While he looked for work, Rachel applied for WIC, and SNAP, but the benefits aren’t enough to keep her family fed.

Your contributions have helped Produce Rescue to reach more than 80 food programs this year, including the pantry that Rachel relies on to feed her family. Your support means that Food For Free can also serve meal programs, emergency shelters, special-needs residences, day-care centers, and after-school programs.

As winter approaches, families face tough choices. Between medical bills, the cost of heating, and the need for winter coats, food budgets can get pinched.

But, with your help, Food For Free can help families to eat well, all winter long. By bringing fresh fruit and vegetables to food pantries, meal programs, shelters, day-care centers, and after-school programs, we make it possible for families to eat right even when money is tight.

Please make a contribution today.

* Food For Free always changes names and/or identifying details to protect the privacy of the people we assist.

The application is also available for download here.

Home Delivery is a food assistance program for low-income individuals who are unable to access food pantries dues to illness or disability. Participants receive deliveries of food once a month. A typical delivery consists of 40-50 pounds of food, and includes fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat or fish, and non-perishable foods such as soup and cereal. Food For Free’s Home Delivery program is available only to Cambridge residents.

To be eligible, individuals must:
1. Live in Cambridge, Massachusetts
2. Qualify as low-income under HUD guidelines (less than $30,050 per year for one person)
3. Be unable to access food pantries on their own due to illness or disability and submit a letter from a health-care provider attesting to this fact
4. Live alone, or live only with individuals who are also unable to access food pantries due to illness or disability

For more information, or to receive an application, individuals should contact David Leslie at (617) 868-2900 extension 307. The application is also available for download here.

Food For Free Committee’s Home Delivery Program is supported by the Cambridge Department of Human Services Community Development Block Grant Program, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and the Bushrod H. Campbell and Adah F. Hall Charity Fund.

Friday, October 14, 2011
6-10 p.m.
Morss Hall, Walker Memorial Building, MIT
142 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

Local luminaries:

Doug Berman—Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
Mary C. Huntington—The Nora Theatre Company
Tom and Ray Magliozzi—Car Talk
Andrew Rimas—The Improper Bostonian
Debra Wise—Underground Railway Theater
Robin Young—Here and Now

celebrating Food For Free’s founders:

Bill August * C.T. Butler * Brian Feigenbaum * Mary Russell * Jai Wilson

Food and drink was graciously donated by:
Andala Coffee House * Baraka Café
Cambridge Brewing Co. * Dave’s Fresh Pasta * Diesel Café
Harvest Co-op Market * Henrietta’s Table
The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub
Pacific Street Café * Petsi Pies * Ole Mexican Grill
Q’s Nuts * Redbones Barbecue * Rendezvous in Central Square
Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston * Royal East Restaurant
Stone Hearth Pizza * Tables of Content
UpStairs on the Square * Veggie Galaxy

Music by One Thin Dime

Food For Free thanks our sponsors for making this event possible.

Harvest Sponsors

Communications Sponsors

Neighborhood Sponsors

Alexandria Real Estate Equities * Boston Organics
Cambridge Trust * Casella
Classic Graphx * The Harvard/MIT Coop
Microsoft New England * 1369 Coffee House

Supporting Sponsor

Mount Auburn Hospital

For a campus map that includes other parking options, go here.

Estimated Value: $250 Minimum bid: $80

Donated by: Clare Walker Leslie

Spend a truly memorable time with naturalist and artist Clare Walker Leslie who will join you for a walk anywhere in the Cambridge/Boston vicinity—out your door, along your street, riverway, nearby sanctuary, coastal edge or wooded place. You will be fascinated as you walk and learn about your local birds and animals. Remember the day forever as you read and reread your copy of Leslie’s charming Drawn to Nature.

Contact information will be provided to the high bidder to arrange a mutually agreed upon time.