Working with House of Hope to Support Lowell Families
October 27, 2025
Our partnership with House of Hope ensures families experiencing homelessness in Lowell have access to healthy food and vital support services.
Explore: Partner Spotlight
115 Households. 11,000 Pounds. One Mission
June 3, 2025
Gaining Ground’s Food for Families program is our sole direct-to-client program serving more than 200 people.
Daniel’s Table Building Community, Confidence With Help From Gaining Ground
May 5, 2025
It’s a busy time for Daniel’s Table. Our partner organization delivers groceries to anywhere from 15 to 20 households per week, with an additional 80 to 120 families picking up food weekly.
Everything And The Kitchen Sink: Women’s Lunch Place Finds Multiple Ways To Serve Community
March 6, 2025
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.
Bedford Food Bank Works With Gaining Ground To Address Nutrition Insecurity
January 21, 2025
At Bedford Food Bank, the staff focuses on assisting two types of insecurity when a person needs assistance affording food: food security and nutrition security.
Beautiful Bouquets and Amazing Vegetables—Food for Families
October 3, 2024
On a mild late summer day, Gaining Ground staff, board members and volunteers gathered at the volunteer pavilion, packing 120 bags of seasonal produce for Food for Families. Gaining Ground’s produce is typically distributed by 16 hunger relief partner organizations throughout eastern Massachusetts, including food pantries, shelters, schools, soup kitchens, and emergency meal programs. However, […]
The Madd Love Language of Food: UTEC
June 26, 2024 • Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
For the second year in a row, Gaining Ground is proud to support the Madd Love Meals program at UTEC, a weekly delivery of free groceries throughout Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill that nourishes about 120 households experiencing food insecurity.
Fresh Flavors and Full Hearts – Women’s Lunch Place
December 7, 2023 • Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
On a crisp fall morning, chef Inna Khitrik stirred a huge skillet of aromatic Mediterranean soup over the stove at Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston-based day shelter that serves more than 1,800 unhoused women each year. “We ask for just their first names, no other questions,” said Khitrik, who became the Kitchen Manager in July […]
From the Field: Freshness Matters, and Other Lessons from Partner Visits
September 27, 2023
When peak season subsides at Gaining Ground, we remain busy and productive—including making autumn visits to our hunger relief partners. These 16+ organizations provide a connection between the farm and the community, by distributing organic produce from Gaining Ground to thousands of people experiencing food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts. September visits have included the Bedford […]
Stronger Together: La Colaborativa
August 29, 2023
Up-tempo music and conversations among neighbors were the soundtrack on a recent afternoon for the open-air food pantry that convenes twice a week in Chelsea, at a Route 1 underpass, coordinated by the Latina-led nonprofit La Colaborativa. In the shade, community members chose from vegetables, fruits, grains, flours, dairy, eggs, proteins, and canned goods. “All […]
Putting Choice Front and Center: Loaves & Fishes
July 27, 2023
Food is a common thread that connects us to one another and to our larger community. At Gaining Ground, we believe that consistent access to nutritious, ethically-grown, and culturally-relevant food is a necessity and a right. It is critical to us that the fruits and vegetables that we grow reach the members of our community […]
Adapting to Meet Rising Need: The Bedford Food Bank
June 27, 2023 • Christine Savage, Communications Manager
The landscape of food insecurity in Massachusetts has transformed in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In 2019, the rate of household food insecurity was 19 percent, according to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Today, it stands at 33 percent. This profound change has demanded ingenuity and adaptability from many of the organizations […]
Partner Spotlight: Eastie Farm
October 28, 2022 • Christine Savage, Communications Manager
When we talk with our hunger-relief partner Eastie Farm about their work over the past year, the first thing they mention is the need. The need for better access to affordable food in East Boston. The need for fresh, organic produce. The need for equitable opportunities for health and well-being. “There is one grocery store […]
Women’s Lunch Place: Growing Community Wellness Through Food, Fun, and Education
July 27, 2022 • Christine Savage, Communications Manager
Having a conversation with a talented chef about meals cooked from scratch with farm-fresh ingredients is a surefire way to jumpstart your appetite. “Yesterday I had garlic scapes, we also got pea shoots, and then some spinach. I blended it all together—then I added a couple of magical ingredients—and it’s just this really beautiful herby […]
Partner Spotlight: House of Hope
November 30, 2021 • Gaining Ground
For November, we’re taking the opportunity to catch up with our recipient partner House of Hope, which runs programs and permanent housing services with the goal of ending homelessness in Lowell. They do this through a commitment to transitioning families experiencing homelessness into greater social and economic stability. As a part of their work, they […]
Partner Spotlight: Healthy Waltham
October 25, 2021 • Gaining Ground
This month we paused to catch up with our recipient partner Healthy Waltham, which promotes collaborative approaches to improving the health and wellness of under-resourced populations in Waltham. They do this through programs that increase access to healthy foods, provide nutrition education, and create opportunities for physical activity. We spoke with Operations Director Maria DiMaggio […]
Partner Spotlight: Daniel’s Table Provides More Than Meals in Framingham
June 23, 2021 • Christine Savage, Communications Manager
Our newest recipient partner is Daniel’s Table, which provides food and nutritional education to folks struggling with food insecurity in Framingham. Gaining Ground’s communications manager, Christine Savage, recently interviewed Daniel’s Table’s co-founder, Alicia Blais, about the organization’s mission, programming, and what they’re getting up to this busy summer. Alicia, could you please give us an […]
Recipient Spotlight: East Boston Community Soup Kitchen
October 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
Our newest recipient partner is the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, which provides meals and groceries to those struggling with food insecurity, homelessness, and other challenges in East Boston. Our program manager, Allison Goodwin, recently interviewed the Kitchen’s founder and executive director, Sandra Niijjar, about her mission to feed her community. Sandra is second from […]
Sudbury Food Pantry in the time of COVID
August 4, 2020 • Polly Vanasse, Board Member
At the Sudbury Food Pantry, a small team of dedicated adults works each week on Tuesday and Thursday to distribute groceries to approximately 50 hungry families. Beginning in late May, the pantry saw a sharp uptick in attendance when it began to distribute fresh spring produce from Gaining Ground. Wide-eyed families saw the gorgeous heads […]
New Recipient Profile: GreenRoots in Chelsea
July 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
This year has brought plenty of unforeseen challenges as well as growth, re-calibration, and hidden blessings. The COVID-19 pandemic in early March forced some of our largest partners, such as Boston’s Pine Street Inn, to temporarily stop accepting produce from Gaining Ground due to safety and logistical concerns. While some channels closed, other new partnerships […]