Around Town

Chamber, Local Restaurants Team Up for Gift Card Give Back in Response to SNAP Uncertainty 

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The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Regional Chamber:

More than 20 local restaurants are teaming up this November to help combat food insecurity. Between now and Nov. 26, when you purchase a gift card from a participating restaurant up to 25 percent of the sales will be donated to Spoonfuls, Inc. — a Newton-based nonprofit food recovery organization that rescues fresh, healthy food and delivers it directly to local food pantries, shelters, and community programs statewide. The Gift Card Give Back program is organized by the Charles River Regional Chamber and its member restaurants in response to uncertainty about the suspension of the SNAP program and the overall growing food insecurity. “The quick response from our restaurant community has been inspiring, especially at a time when so many of these businesses are facing challenges of their own,” said Charles River Chamber President and CEO Greg Reibman.

Around Town

Watertown Porch Pick Up Collects 1500 Pounds of Food for Food Pantry

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Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator Kathy Cunningham looks as some of the food donations from the November Porch Pick Up. (Contributed Photo)

The Watertown community stepped up at a time when many in town face cuts in their SNAP benefits. The monthly Porch Pick Up program collected around 1,500 pounds of food for the Watertown Food Pantry. Kathy Cunningham, coordinator of the Watertown Food Pantry sent out a thank you on social media on Nov. 1.

Around Town

Centre Street Food Pantry Expands Hours in Response to Pending SNAP Cuts

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The following announcement was provided by Centre Street Food Pantry:

Centre Street Food Pantry, a nonprofit regional food relief agency that serves residents of Brookline, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown and Wellesley, has announced its response to the pending cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Access Program) and other hardships created due to the government shutdown. Centre Street will expand its hours, provide additional Thanksgiving items, and stock as much food as possible to provide fresh produce, dairy and meal-making groceries to those in need. Centre Street typically serves 1,100 households a month (each a unique visit) and is preparing to serve upwards of 1,500 households starting in November – an increase of 35%. To meet the anticipated increase in families seeking food in November, Centre Street will be: 

Extending its weekly Tuesday service days to include an additional half hour for those who cannot make an appointment. Extending its Saturday service day by one hour.

Around Town

Nearly 2,500 Watertown Residents Set to See Food Benefits Frozen, Local Assistance Efforts Underway

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With a freeze on SNAP benefits set to start Nov. 1, 2025, food drives for local food pantries are being planned. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Starting Nov. 1, 2025, nearly 2,500 Watertown residents who receive federal food assistance funds will likely lose hundreds of dollars in SNAP benefits. Food pantries, non-profits and other groups in the City are gearing up to try to fill the gap.

Around Town

Food Assistance Benefits Will be Cut in December, Groups Calling for State to Restore Funds

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Recipients of food assistance in Massachusetts will see their benefits that can be used to buy fresh produce cut beginning in December, but there are efforts to ask the Governor and Legislature to restore the funding the in the State Budget. Stephanie Venizelos, the City of Watertown’s Community Wellness Program Manager, said that the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) will be reduced to $20 per household. The program is available to recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). “Recently, DTA and MDAR announced the following changes to the HIP program beginning on December 1, 2024, due to insufficient funding in the MA state budget. The HIP benefit structure will be reduced to $20 each month, and the maximum HIP benefits a household can earn will be $20 a month for all households, regardless of size.

Around Town

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

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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)

As the numbers of people facing a scarcity of food, worried about losing their home, or paying for utilities rose at the start of the Pandemic, a group of people in Watertown was gathered to bring together their knowledge of how to serve those in need. The task force continues to meet regularly, and tries to figure out ways to fill the gaps and patch the cracks in the local, state, and federal social services programs.

This story is the third in a series by Watertown News, in conjunction with Watertown Cable Access Television, called “Watertown’s Hidden Problem: Food Insecurity Among Us.” (See part one here). The Task Force

Jan Singer, who was executive director of the Watertown Community Foundation when COVID-19 hit, said the Community Resilience Task Force came about when the Foundation got a grant from the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund aimed at providing assistance in key areas such as housing, childcare, and food security. Singer and members of the Foundation board quickly realized that they needed to gather the experts to help them direct the funds where they were needed most.

Around Town

State Officials Celebrate National Farmers Market Week in Watertown

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown celebrated National Farmers Market Week on Wednesday. Along with the normal throngs of people seeking fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, fish and more, a group of state officials attended the Watertown Farmers Market Wednesday to mark National Farmers Market Week. The weekly market, held every Wednesday at Saltonstall Park, not only provides access to locally grown and produced food, it serves as a place for the community to come together and to provide nutritious items to those who struggle to pay for food. Massachusetts has more than 200 farmers markets, said John Lebeaux, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, but most others are not held in such picturesque locations, including parking lots. “I love this site here.

Around Town

Farmers Market Organizers Pleased with Turnout, Look to Extend Access to Fresh Produce

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With the pandemic shutdown in full force, the organizers of the Watertown Farmers Market had to consider whether they should host the weekly market in 2020 and, if so, how they could do it safely and whether people would come out. As the season nears its end, organizers are pleased with how the market turned out. Stephanie Venizelos, the Town’s Community Wellness Program Manager and Farmers Market Manager, said the market at Saltonstall Park got a good crowd every Wednesday over the summer and into the fall. “No one knew what to anticipate. We’ve been bringing in 500-700 people a week.