The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, announced today that it has received a $1 million capital grant from the Yawkey Foundation. The grant was awarded to GBFB to help with much needed refrigeration upgrades to GBFB’s Yawkey Distribution Center, the food bank’s 117,000 square foot warehouse in Boston that serves as the hub of the charitable food system in Eastern Massachusetts.
The grant from the Yawkey Foundation, coupled with a state-funded grant, will strengthen the integrity, safety, and functionality of warehouse operations by nearly doubling GBFB’s capacity to store and distribute more perishable food such as fresh produce, dairy products and eggs, the items most commonly requested by GBFB food pantry partners and the neighbors they serve.
When Jean Yawkey first began supporting the Greater Boston Food Bank 35 years ago, she was acting on her and her husband Tom’s longstanding dedication to helping individuals and families access basic needs such as nutritious food. The Yawkey Foundation Trustees are grateful for this opportunity to perpetuate the Yawkey’s philanthropic legacy by working with GBFB to remove barriers to accessing fresh produce and perishable products by expanding capacity of the Yawkey Distribution Center.