CHELSEA, MASS. (WHDH) - Local food pantries are struggling to feed people in need after a major federal program shut down at the end of 2020.
The main source of food for La Colaborativa in Chelsea has been the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program, which ended as scheduled last week. That forced Executive Director Gladys Vega to temporarily shut the food pantry down as she tried to get donations.
“We mobilized people. We called. We spend the whole weekend calling people to help us with donations, which is a blessing but it’s not something complete. It’s not reliable,” Vega said. “I can never predict how many people I am able to feed.”
Officials at the Greater Boston Food Bank, which distributes food to nearly 600 pantries in eastern Massachusetts says many of those pantries relied heavily on the food box program.
“We are very much in a hunger crisis at the moment,” said Catherine Drennan of the Greater Boston Food Bank. “Massachusetts has actually seen the highest increase in food insecurity compared to any other state in the nation.”
The federal government just announced it will resume the food box program soon, but until then Vega says families are struggling.
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