Brookline Program To Help Restaurants And Food Insecure Residents

BROOKLINE, MA — The Brookline Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Brookline Food Pantry and the state to help get meals into the hands of hungry families, and at the same time help support local restaurants.

"We will be getting a total of $60,000 over the course of the project to pay directly to restaurants for their meals," said Chamber President Debbie Good Miller.

The initiative is funded by a State budget earmark proposed by Massachusetts Sen. Cynthia Creem, who got the idea and then hashed it out with Newton Needham Regional Chamber president Greg Riebman, she said.

Creem had worked closely with Reibman and his regional chamber to advocate for local businesses and had been talking about how some communities have done better than others at easing the burden amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As the state legislature was working on the state budget they were given an opportunity to put in budget amendments related to the pandemic.

"I thought, 'what can I do to try to help restaurants in my district?' " she said. She gave Reibman a call and the two worked together to come up with the idea of setting aside money to help restaurants while also helping those in the communities who need it most.

"The great thing about this is it helps the restaurants and people with food insecurity," Creem said.

While the chamber will administer the program, and is still waiting for the funds, they are working to find between three and six Brookline restaurants to participate in "Feeding Brookline," in town.

The chamber said it would pay restaurants for labeled meals for the food pantry to pick up and distribute to people in Brookline who are food-insecure.

"We just don't know how many restaurants will be interested," Miller said. "It's the first time we've done anything like this, but we see it as a huge opportunity."

The chamber is hoping to have the program up and running by March 9 and will run through May 14. At the end of the program, the chamber will use the program to study its impacts on job creation, retention and revenue.

A committee including representatives from the chamber and the Brookline Food Pantry, will review the applications from restaurants that want to participate.

The move comes at a time when food insecurity, or people not getting enough food to maintain health, is on the rise.

Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief organization, said the coronavirus-related economic crises pushed the number of food insecure people upwards.

Job loss and other economic crises associated with the coronavirus push the rate of food insecurity in Norfolk County alone from 6.2 percent to 10.7 percent by the end of 2020.

Food insecurity is often thought of as a "poor people's problem," but not all people living in poverty are food insecure, and not all food insecure people live in poverty.

Food insecurity is a complex issue sandwiched in with other systemic challenges, including poverty, low wages, affordable housing shortages, chronic and acute health problems, high medical costs and social isolation

Every Tuesday throughout the year, a Food Pantry is held at the Brookline Senior Center. Each week they serve upwards of 100 people. This program is unique because there is no membership, no residency requirement, no age restriction and no limit to the number of times per month that a person can come for food.

The food is provided from donations from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Lovin' Spoonfuls, When Pigs Fly and the Brookline Food Coop. The items most often available include: produce, bread, baked goods, dairy, salads, sandwiches and seasonal items.

Other food pantries in town:

• Brookline Emergency Food Pantry/High St. — 226 High St., Brookline
• Brookline Emergency Food Pantry — 15 St. Paul St., Brookline
• Brookline Food Pantry Egmont St — 55A Egmont Street, Brookline