Special to the Times
Boston Food Access Council, of Boston, has been named a recipient of Project Bread’s inaugural Community Power Grants program. The funding will help to drive grassroots advocacy and systems change to address the root causes of food insecurity, building capacity for smaller organizations where it would not be otherwise possible. Boston Food Access Council was selected from over 40 proposals for its proven impact, advocacy wins, and strong potential to build power across communities.
“Food insecurity is not just about food – it is about deep structural disparities,” says Adriana Mendes-Sheldon, Director of Community Partnerships at Project Bread. “True transformation happens when power is redistributed and communities most impacted by food insecurity are part of shaping the solutions. By investing in grassroots leadership and advocacy, we build long-term capacity for organizing and a sustainable impact that goes beyond charity and toward systemic change.”
The Boston Food Access Council is a community-led coalition working to ensure that Boston residents most affected by food insecurity have the knowledge, resources, and power to shape food access solutions. Comprised of community members and organizational leaders, Boston Food Access Council brings together residents, advocates, and policymakers to break down silos and advance equitable food access through collaboration, advocacy, and awareness-building. With support from Project Bread’s Community Power Fund, Boston Food Access Council will strengthen its capacity and deepen community leadership, while also funding a small cohort of paid community advocates. They have already hired a new fractional executive director, Sutton Kiplinger, to provide dedicated coordination and strategic guidance. In partnership with the Neighborhood Food Action Collaborative (NFAC), 3 community advocates have been hired who will do community engagement to help neighbors understand their own opportunities for action and become part of an engaged base of community members advocating for the changes they want to see in food access in their communities. These advocates—people with lived experience of food insecurity—will be trained to conduct SNAP and food access outreach, share accurate information, and elevate community stories at farmers’ markets, neighborhood events, and in conversations with decision-makers across Boston.
“We need to be able to connect policymakers directly to people who are experiencing food insecurity and supporting their communities every day,” says Seana Weaver, former steering committee member and continued supporter of the Boston Food Access Council. “By investing in both leadership capacity and paid community advocates, we’re strengthening the bridge between lived experience and power, while reducing misinformation and ensuring that community voices are driving food justice solutions in Boston.”
Project Bread awarded a total of $97,000 to five Massachusetts organizations through the Community Power Grants program. Grantees received individualized technical assistance from Project Bread’s Research and Evaluation team to develop customized logic models that track each project’s progress and impact. They will also participate in Project Bread’s statewide Community of Practice. Mendes-Sheldon explains that “the program was intentionally designed to provide value beyond funding, offering key supports that build long-term organizational capacity, sustainability, and impact.” The grants strategically support the Make Hunger History Coalition, Project Bread’s bold statewide initiative mobilizing more than 500 partners around a shared roadmap to permanently end hunger in Massachusetts. This work seeks to intentionally shift the power dynamics in anti-hunger work by providing tools and support for grassroots organizations and individuals to voice their perspectives and become leaders in this statewide movement. The coalition operates through five strategic pillars: ensuring all residents can access and buy food, integrating food security with health care, supporting residents to eat nutritious and local food, enhancing food support programs for priority populations, and addressing root causes that contribute to hunger. The other 2025-2026 grantees include Revere Arabic Community, Roslindale Food Collective + New Beginnings Reentry Services, MetroWest Food Collaborative, and Hampshire County Food Policy Council. They have all joined the coalition as active members, with their community leadership and organizing efforts directly feeding into working groups and collaborative efforts across the state.
To get involved with the Make Hunger History Coalition, visit: www.makehungerhistoryma.org.
People experiencing food insecurity should call into Project Bread’s toll-free FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333), which provides confidential assistance to connect with food resources, including SNAP benefits, in 180 languages and for the hearing impaired. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org/get-help.
Project Bread, the leading statewide food security organization in Massachusetts, connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible—so that no one goes hungry. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org.
Boston Food Access Council (BFAC) is a community-led coalition working to empower Bostonians with the knowledge to access food resources and to bring together and amplify community voices and needs through collaboration, partnership, advocacy, and awareness building. Through community outreach, policy advocacy, and organizing strategies, BFAC ensures that those closest to the problem are the ones leading the solutions. For more information visit: https://bostonfoodaccesscouncil.org/