Around Town

Group from Watertown Food Pantry Joining Walk for Hunger

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The following announcement was provided by Project Bread:

On May 5, the Watertown Food Pantry will be among over 3,500 participants to lace up for Project Bread’s 56th annual Walk for Hunger. For the fourth consecutive year, the Watertown based nonprofit will raise money to support statewide food security through the Commonwealth Program. The Commonwealth gives organizations addressing food insecurity 60 percent of all funds they raise to support their own hunger relief programs, with the remaining 40 percent applied to Project Bread’s statewide food security effort. To date, Project Bread has awarded over $12,550 to the Watertown Food Pantry. Beginning in 1969, as the first pledge walk in the nation, Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger brings together a diverse community dedicated to creating change.

Around Town

Watertown Resident Honored for Volunteering to Help Food Insecure Residents

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Chris Haroian builds stacks of Just Eats grocery boxes at a volunteer shift at Food For Free on April 3, 2024. The following announcement was provided by Food For Free:

Chris Haroian, of Watertown, is a volunteer for Food For Free, the leading food rescue and distribution nonprofit dedicated to providing reliable access to fresh and nutritious food to eastern Massachusetts communities. Volunteers for Food For Free help to pack food, convert bulk prepared food into single-serve microwavable meals, and deliver food to help strengthen the community food system. This National Volunteer Month, the nonprofit is celebrating Haroian, who is making a difference for food insecure residents. Headquartered in Somerville, Mass., Food For Free rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and creates new distribution channels to reach underserved populations across eastern Massachusetts.

Around Town

Series on Food Insecurity in Watertown Debuts on WCA-TV

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Jan Singer, left, the former Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation, discussed how the Foundation responded to food insecurity during the Pandemic with journalists Maya Shwayder and Charlie Breitrose. (Photo by Dan Hogan / WCA-TV)

The following announcement was provided by Watertown Cable Access Television:

In cooperation with the Watertown News and thanks to a generous grant from the Watertown Community Foundation, Watertown Cable News is producing a series of videos chronicling issues of hunger and food insecurity in the community. In part 1 of the series, we talk to a number of different stakeholders in the community from the Food Pantry, Famers’ Market, Wayside, and Community Foundation to find out how many people are struggling and where the gaps in service lie. Accompanying this series are articles written by WCN news anchor and local journalist Maya Shwayder as well as Watertown News Editor Charlie Breitrose. Read the Articles

Part 1: Watertown’s Hidden Problem: Food Insecurity Among Us

Part 2: Hunger Hits Home: A Watertown Teenager’s Struggle to Feed Herself

Part 3: Hunger in Watertown: Task Force Tackles Social Needs, Tries to Fills Gaps Left by State, Local Programs

Part 4: Through Pandemics & Collapsed Ceilings, the Watertown Food Pantry Stays Open

Part 5: Filling the Watertown’s Free Fridge is a Community Effort

Part 6: Food Insecurity in Watertown: Hunger is a Multi-Faceted Problem — It Won’t Magically Go Away

Roundtable Discussion

On February 12th, WCN and the Watertown News produced a live roundtable discussion at the Mosesian Center for the Arts to hear from representatives from the city, Food Pantry, Watertown Housing Authority, and Wayside to dive further into these issues.

Around Town

Hear How Watertown is Tackling the Growing Problem of Hunger at a Live Roundtable Discussion

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After the ceiling collapsed in the church that hosts the Watertown Food Pantry, pickup was moved outside for several weeks. (Photo by Kathy Cunningham)

A lack of food has long been a problem for some Watertown residents, but the number of people worried about going hungry increased during the Pandemic and the numbers have only declined slightly in the past few years. On Feb. 12, Watertown News and Watertown Cable Access Television will host a live discussion with some of the people working on the problem of food insecurity in town. The Watertown Food Pantry has seen the number of families served each week double from pre- to post-pandemic.

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Hunger in Watertown Will be the Focus of Live Roundtable Discussion

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Food on the shelfs at the Watertown Food Pantry, which has seen an increase in the number of people using its services since the start of the Pandemic. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A series of articles in Watertown News put a spotlight on a problem that often goes unseen in the community: hunger. The discussion will continue with a live event, where Watertown Cable Access Television will debut a video about food insecurity in town. WHAT: Monday, February 12, Watertown Cable Access TV and Watertown News will hold a live round table about the state of hunger and food insecurity in our community at 6 p.m. on the main stage Mosesian Center for the Arts

WHO: Panelists will include Watertown Community Foundation Executive Director Tia Tilson, Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham, the City of Watertown’s Community Wellness Program Manager Stephanie Venizelos, Watertown Housing Authority Executive Director Michael Lara, and Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist Sophia Suarez-Friedman from the Wayside Multi-Service Center. HOSTS: Moderated by Charlie Breitrose of Watertown News and journalist Maya Shwayder.

Around Town

Food Insecurity in Watertown: Hunger is a Multi-Faceted Problem — It Won’t Magically Go Away

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The Watertown Food Pantry set up outside the United Methodist Church while its facility was being repaired. (Photo by Kathy Cunningham)

For the last several weeks, Watertown News, in conjunction with Watertown Cable Access Television, published six stories in a series called “Watertown’s Hidden Problem: Food Insecurity Among Us.” (See part one here). In the course of reporting these stories on food and hunger in our community, one absolute fact has emerged: how indelibly intertwined the problem of food insecurity is with other challenges. Food is too expensive. If you can afford food, it might only be cheap, low-nutrient food.

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Filling the Watertown’s Free Fridge is a Community Effort

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Volunteer Sue Twombly stocks the Watertown Community Fridge with items they picked up at the Cambridge Community Center. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Each Friday, Will and Sue Twombly drive to Cambridge and fill up their car with vegetables, fruit, bread, and other items and bring them back to Watertown. The food is bound for one of the newest resources for people struggling to afford to eat: the Watertown Community Fridge. The Fridge is a free resource, located outside the United Methodist Church at 80 Mt. Auburn St., that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Around Town

Through Pandemics & Collapsed Ceilings, the Watertown Food Pantry Stays Open

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Food on the shelfs at the Watertown Food Pantry, which has seen an increase in the number of people using its services since the start of the Pandemic. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

With her pert Boston accent and indefatigable can-do attitude, Kathleen Cunningham welcomes visitors into the basement of the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church. It’s a big open space, with low ceilings, pink walls, some generous storage space and an older industrial kitchen. It’s also very obviously crumbling. Construction tape blocks off part of the kitchen.