Women’s Lunch Place has a nice ring, but it’s a bit of a misnomer for the 43-year-old nonprofit that serves more than 2,000 women annually.

“I always say that our name doesn’t necessarily really capture everything that we do,” said Allegra Marra, the director of corporate and volunteer engagement at Women’s Lunch Place. “It’s really Women’s Lunch Place and everything else.”

You could say Women’s Lunch Place offers everything, including the kitchen sink, which the team uses to rinse fresh produce from Gaining Ground and dishes. However, the organization’s roots are in food. Jane Alexander and Eileen Riley founded it in 1982 after noticing a gap in the overnight shelters they worked in: There was nowhere for women to go during the day.

“It started as a place to get lunch,” Marra said.  “We believe it starts with a good healthy meal in your stomach. We know how it feels if you are hungry, angry, tired and not in a good place.”

A good meal can be physically and mentally stabilizing. But the Women’s Lunch Place team knew it wasn’t a cure-all. They wanted to help the guests — who often had long histories of trauma, such as domestic abuse, substance use disorders and mental illness — feel whole and find ways to support themselves. It started with other basics: On-site showers and laundry, access to toiletries, emergency clothing, scarves and gloves for weathering notoriously cold Boston winters. It’s all available in the dining room. 

There’s also a Resource Center where people can look for and apply for jobs. Someone can help them with a resume. Formal behavioral and physical health services and support groups are also available. 

So is a less formal — but essential — need: community. There are the casual conversations around the dining room table and small group programs, like art therapy. 

“Being creative is a great way to relieve some stress and find community with others,” Marra said. “A lot of folks come here for that connection to others.”

It’s a connection that felt lost and more pronounced during the pandemic. It has become more critical as the epidemic of loneliness — which began before the first case of COVID — continues in its wake.

“We had to close down our dining room when COVID-19 hit,” Marra said. “We were still passing out meals and having people meet with advocates at safe distances, but we weren’t able to have everybody on-site at that time. We realized then that a lot of the guests were coming to pick up their meals or calling and just saying how much they missed that community. Loneliness can lead to a lot of isolation for folks…A lot of mental health struggles came out of that as well. We saw the importance of a safe setting where people can share their journeys and connect on similar things they went through. It helps people feel less alone.”

The connection and story-sharing between Women’s Lunch Place and its guests can continue even when someone no longer needs the hot, fresh meals or other services. One art therapist is a former guest.

“It’s a meaningful aspect for the guests just to feel connected and have an inspiration,” Marra said.

It also fills a nutritional gap for many guests. Grocery prices obviously affect them, too, and vital fruits and veggies that aren’t shelf-stable or priced as low as other, non-produce options can be the first cut from their shopping lists.

“Nutritious food is not as accessible or affordable for folks,” Marra said. “Some neighborhoods don’t have access to fresh groceries — food desert areas. They are doing what they need to keep their families fed, which is the most important thing, but we see the connection between nutrition and health. We believe food is medicine. We pride ourselves on making the food delicious, nutritious and healthy. Adding all the fresh vegetables makes the meals better than before.”

So, a volunteer picks up fresh produce weekly, and Chef Inna Khitrik builds her menus around the seasonal ingredients. The guests have taken note.

“The guests are always commenting on how delicious the vegetables are, like when we did collard greens,” Marra said. “It’s nice to explain to them that it came from a farm not too far away.”

It adds to the community aspect, and a few Women’s Lunch Place guests made the short trip to the Gaining Ground Farm to give back. They weeded and learned.

“It was impactful for a lot of the women to see exactly where the food comes from,” Marra said.

Marra said that Women’s Lunch Place wants to continue providing impactful experiences for guests as the calendar turns to 2025. She doesn’t expect the demand for food to slow, but the team wants to do more than meet basic needs (while continuing to do that well). Food is filling, medicine and the foundation for community, and that’s the lens they’re operating from.

“Chef Inna and her team have been trying to work on what they call a cultural cafe at the shelter,” Marra said. “They’re asking the guests that come to the shelter what kind of recipes they like, the foods from their homeland and the foods they miss having. We want to grow and work with the guests to ensure they get the foods they love, bring back memories, are culturally appropriate, and keep people connected to the food.”

Marra said one of the biggest goals is to advocate for and provide housing stabilization to ensure the women have a safe, overnight place to stay. The public can help, whether they’re Bostonians or not. The organization has an Amazon Wishlist and has an annual Mother’s Day campaign where a guest makes cards and people can purchase them for $25.

“That provides meals for an entire week for one of the guests,” Marra said.

WLP’s social channels (Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn) also have updates on ways to help. People in the area can also help by passing out meals, packaging foods, chopping veggies and doing the dishes in the kitchen sink.

“We couldn’t do it without the volunteers or people helping from afar,” Marra said.

Featured photo courtesy of Women’s Lunch Place.