Arlington Street Church Friday Night Supper

The mission of the Friday Night Supper Program is to serve a hot nutritious meal in a safe and dignified environment every Friday to anyone who wants one.

Each guest is served a nutritious three-course meal consisting of soup, dinner, and dessert at their table by their courteous volunteer serves.

They also provide clothing, shoes, toiletries, and other essential items to their guests following meal service. Twice per month, Friday Night Supper Program provides basic essentials to its guest through a request and need-based system.

Clothing Closet

On the second and fourth Friday of the month, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm, guests can put in their request for clothing at the table near the piano. The clothing closet opens up at 6:30pm.

Resource Cards
The FNSP has a series of “People Cards” that provide information on free resources in Boston. They have one for Food and Shelter resources, Health care resources, and useful resources (employment/education services, legal assistance, etc.).

Every Friday between the hours of 5:00pm-7:00pm. Guests can begin to line up in the public alley off Arlington Street at 4:30pm

No registration or sign-up is required, no questions are asked.

Berea Seventh Day Adventist

Church Food Pantry:
They believe that food should not be a privilege but a basic human right and no one should ever go hungry. The pantry is open on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month from 8am – 11am. However, if you have an emergency for food, please call Berea Food Pantry at 617-427-2201.

Office Hours: Monday through Friday: 9:00am to 1:00pm

Bring photo ID for food pantry, as well as bags for food.

Bethel Baptist Church

Worship services: Sunday at 7:30am and 11am
Sunday School & New Member’s Class: 9:30am

Additional programs, activities, groups:

• Bible study: Wednesday at 5:30pm and 6:30pm
• Prayer Service: Wednesday at 7:30pm
• Free Meal and Food Pantry: Call for days, times and eligibility requirements.

Their church door is open- Please remember to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

Monday through Friday: 8:00am-4:15pm

Boston Rescue Mission

Boston Rescue Mission offers a variety of programs and resources that prevent and end homelessness and support the recovery, health, faith, and independence of those who have a history of substance abuse, incarceration, and homelessness. Programs offered include:

• Preventing Homelessness 
  • Outpatient counseling center
  • Sober living and life growth shelter communities
  • Food pantry
  • Job readiness
• Paws for Serenity – Animal Assisted Therapy 
• Ending Homelessness, One Person at a Time
  • “Wet” emergency overnight shelter beds
  • “Dry” sober beds and supporting services
  • Rapid rehousing & stabilization program
  • Safe Haven veterans program 
• Veterans Programs 
• Meal Programs 
  • In house meal program
  • Saturday morning outreach

Varies by program

Brighton Allston Congregational Church: Thrift Shop and Food Pantry

Thrift Shop
Open on Saturdays 10:00a.m. – 1:00p.p.m. – includes children’s clothes, books, kitchen items, and more. There’s a “free store” downstairs in the church’s dining hall with out-of-season clothing and excess books and toys

Food Pantry: Baskets and Community Supper
The Allston-Brighton Food Pantry provides nourishing food at no cost to members of the Allston-Brighton community.

• Food baskets: 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 10am – 1pm (food baskets contain a 3 to 4 day food supply for one household)
• Community Supper: Wednesdays, 6pm

Food Basket- Am I eligible?
In order to qualify for the Food Basket program you must provide:

• Picture ID
• Proof of income eligibility (welfare card, Mass Health card, disability papers or unemployment papers), or a referral from a social worker, clergy member, hospital staff, Food Source hotline, etc.
• a letter with a current postmark confirming your address

If you meet all of these requirements, arrive at the Allston-Brighton Food Pantry (404 Washington St, Brighton) between 10am and 1pm to receive your food basket .

Cathedral Church of St. Paul – MANNA Community

The Monday Lunch program has been serving a freshly cooked hot lunch for anyone who desires it every week for thirty years. MANNA volunteers now join their long standing partner parishes to welcome the broader homeless community every Monday at 11:30 a.m.

Lunch is served every Monday from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. in Sproat Hall.

Monday Lunch is still running, but in a modified manner to comply with the CDC and other public health requirements. They will be serving individually prepared meals.

The Cathedral offers additional services, including weekly masses, a microlibrary, meditation groups, and more. See the website for more information.

Mondays, 11:30am - 12:45pm

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston

Catholic Charities operates a number of community service centers in eastern Massachusetts. The centers provide a wide variety of support services including some basic needs emergency assistance, education and training programs, transitional housing for families, child care, and family counseling, and support.

Programs:

• Basic Needs 
• Child Care
• Children & Youth
• Counseling
• Community Interpreter Services 
• Education
• Elder Services
• Family Support
• Nurse Assistant Training
• Post Adoption & Search
• Refugee Services 
• Shelter Services
• Sunset Point Camp
• Teen Center at St. Peter’s

For COVID-19 Program Updates, click here.

See CCAB website

Catholic Charities Program Locations
Catholic Charities Labouré Center
275 West Broadway, South Boston
617-464-8500
Also home to Refugee and Immigration Services & Community Interpreter Services

Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services
275 West Broadway, South Boston
617-464-8100

Catholic Charities North
117 North Common Street, Lynn
781-593-2312

Catholic Charities South
169 Court Street, Brockton
508-587-0815

Catholic Charities Yawkey Center
185 Columbia Road, Dorchester
617-506-6600

Merrimack Valley Catholic Charities
70 Lawrence Street, Lowell
978-452-1421

Catholic Charities Child Care Locations
Yawkey Child Care Center
185 Columbia Road, Dorchester
617-506-6600

Nazareth Child Care Center
19 St. Joseph Street, Jamaica Plain
617-522-4040

Lynn Child Care Center
37 North Federal Street, Lynn
781-598-5547 ext. 230

Malden Early Education and Learning Program
77 Salem Street, Malden
781-397-6055

Peabody Child Care Center
13 Pulaski Street, Peabody
978-532-6860

Labouré Child Care Center
275 West Broadway, South Boston
617-464-8500

Home Based Family Child Care
6 Pleasant Street, Suite 220
Malden, MA
781-605-3330

Centro Comunitário Vida Nova

IBVN Church runs a community center that provides clothes, shoes, toys, books, furniture, and domestic utilities to those in need. The community center is run primarily by Portuguese speakers, but English speakers may also be available.

Saturdays 9am-12pm

29 Montvale Ave
Woburn, MA 01801

Please wear a mask.

Please bring bags.

Common Cathedral (Ecclesia Ministries, Inc.)

Programs:

Sunday Worship:
Located at Brewer Foundation on the Boston Common
Every Sunday at 1pm

Common Art:
Provides space, materials, and caring support staff to support unhoused and low income individuals as they develop their artistic abilities; breakfast and lunch are served
Located at Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
Every Wednesday 10am-2pm

BostonWarm:
Day warming center
Located at Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
Mondays and Fridays 8am-1pm

CityReach:
Overnight urban outreach program
See the information packet to learn more

Target population: Homeless, previously incarcerated people.

Faith Lutheran Church: Faith Kitchen

In partnership with Temple Beth Shalom, Faith Lutheran Church warm and nutritious serves to-go meals at 6:30 p.m. on the second and last Tuesdays of each month in the parking lot at 311 Broadway. You don’t have to sign up ahead of time. Just come! There are often seconds, which they begin giving away at 7:00 pm.

Second and last Tuesdays each month, 6:30pm.

First Church in Cambridge

Homeless Ministries

The First Church Shelter

• Their 14-bed men’s shelter operates 365 days a year and makes a long-term investment in individuals, including a full spectrum of support services to assist in residents’ specific needs as they seek stable housing
• During non-COVID times, the Shelter opens at 6:00 every evening, and guests depart by 7:00 in the morning. In March 2020, however, the Shelter rapidly transitioned to become a daytime as well as a nighttime refuge for guests. It remains open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Contact: Jim Stewart (jstewart@firstchurchshelter.org or 617- 661-1873)

The Friday Café

• The Friday Café, a weekly daytime drop-in program, offers a welcoming space where homeless and housed adults can gather and get to know each other
• Hours: Fridays from 12:00-3:00pm
• Contact: Rev. Kate Layzer (kate@thefriday.cafe or 617-851-5074)
• fridaycafe@firstchurchcambridge.org

Shelter: 18+; must be drug and alcohol-free; not able to admit guests who are experiencing an acute psychiatric emergency; no registered sex offenders

Freedom Hill Community Church – Food Pantry

Their Food Pantry serves hundreds of people each year, providing food for anyone in need. Guests receive a nutritious supply of groceries to help them get by.

Pantry operations during COVID-19: They intend to remain open during this time. Their hours of operation will not change. However, to practice social distancing, they’re asking guests to park in their lot and remain in their cars. Please do not enter the building. Pantry staff will bring groceries out to their guests. If you walk or take public transportation to the pantry, please remain outside the door and staff will assist you there.

Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm - 8:00pm

They have no geographic restrictions – all are welcome.

Friends Meeting at Cambridge – Sharing Circle

Every Wednesday at 6:00 pm those formerly incarcerated and those who care about them meet for dinner and sharing.

For more information contact office@fmcquaker.org with subject “attn. Patricia Wild”.

Due to COVID restrictions, be sure to call first to confirm; sometimes they are on Zoom only, sometimes in person and on Zoom.

Wednesdays 6pm – 9pm

Greater Love Tabernacle, Inc.

Programs

• GLT Prison Prevention Ministry: Under the leadership of Reverend Emanuel Hutcherson, the Future Hope Apprenticeship Program looks to assist with job opportunities in the construction trade, along with life skills, education, and job readiness training for a sustainable FUTURE. The program is committed to providing professional guidance and supportive resources to underserved neighborhoods. They aim to build community and family leaders by replacing fear and doubt with HOPE.
• HIV/AIDS Ministry: Their mission is to increase HIV & AIDS awareness in the Christian community while empowering them to serve people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  As an outreach ministry, they are particularly interested in reaching those with little knowledge about the disease to better assist in prevention and treatment.

  Please feel free to reach out by calling the confidential GLT HIV/AIDS Service Helpline at (617) 740-9480.

Office hours: Tues-Fri: 9:30am - 5:00pm; Sun: 1pm-2pm

Harvard Square Churches Meal Program

The Harvard Square Churches Meal Program hosts an evening meal every Thursday night at Christ Church, Cambridge. A Marketplace accompanies the meal composed of canned goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, toiletries.

Doors open at 5:00pm with the meal served, restaurant-style at 5:30pm

The Harvard Square Churches Meal Program hosts an evening meal every Thursday night at 5:00 at Christ Church, Harvard Square, Cambridge.

Harvest on Vine by St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish

Harvest on Vine offers a variety of items each distribution. The families they serve receive a week’s worth of food, twice a month.

Food distributions take place on the second Saturday at 10am, and the last Tuesday of each month at 2pm.

Proof of residence

Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church

Open Door Soup Kitchen & St. Bridget’s Food Pantry

• Their mission is to help feed the hungry
• They have been serving warm, nutritious, homemade meals every Monday evening for over 30 years!
  • Guests are served a full, restaurant-style meal
• They serve Allston, Brighton, and neighboring communities
• St. Bridget’s pantry also supplies grocery bags of food to their guests
  • They give out approximately 65 to 75 bags each Monday
  • Their goal with each grocery bag is to supply at least a couple of good, protein-rich meals

Open Door Dinner: Mondays 6 - 7pm

Loaves and Fishes Meal Program

This is a food service and relief project led by the Korean Church of Cambridge. Food preparation is made through the cooperation of nonprofit organizations including Greater Boston Foodbank, donations from nearby stores, and the church’s charitable donation budget. For the past 35 years, the Loaves and Fishes wheat program has consistently served 80 to 160 people every Saturday afternoon, serving as a place of service where you can enjoy warm food with dignity rather than just filling your stomach. You can find up-to-date information on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Loaves-and-Fishes-Meal-Program-136515539846968/.

Massachusetts Ave. Baptist Church: Project MANNA

Once per month outreach to the community also includes the Epic Program, a food pantry that feeds an average of 100 families per month. Notifications for upcoming food pantries and Project Manna related events can be found on this page.

Mondays only 1:30pm - 2:30pm (Due to COVID-19 Precautions Temporary hours of Operation are in Place. Meals are served on a takeout basis only).

Paulist Center

The Wednesday Night Supper Club 
Free hot meals served every Wednesday at 6pm.

Emergency Food Pantry
Open every non-holiday Tuesday afternoon, 1:30pm-3pm, for those with an immediate, critical need for food. If there are 5 Tuesdays in a month, the food pantry is closed on the 5th Tuesday. The food pantry is located on the first floor, two doors down from the reception area. One visit for one grocery bag a month is the operating guideline.

See above

Photo ID with a Boston-vicinity area address. One visit for one grocery bag a month is the operating guideline.

Pilgrim Church

• Free community lunch every Saturday from 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Food Pantry every Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (or until food boxes run out)
  • Please bring documentation of name and address
  • You must bring your own bags (four bags are needed) or a carriage
  • Numbers for getting food are distributed starting at 7:00 a.m.
• Bible Study: Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m.
• On Saturdays, Pilgrim church distributes food on Boston Common (by Brewer fountain) to those who need a free lunch
  • 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
• Thrift Shop
  • Open Tuesdays-Fridays 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Open Saturdays by chance
  • 617-807-0540
• Flea Market
  • Saturdays in the parking lot 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Saint Cecilia Parish

A Catholic parish where all are welcome.

Mass times:
Sat: 5:00 p.m.
Sun: 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m.*, 11:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
*Their 9:30 a.m. Mass is also live-streamed and can be viewed on their website
Weekday Mass: Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 8:00 a.m.

Salvation Army Family Thrift Stores – Boston Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center

Salvation Army Boston Kroc

Experience all that the Boston Kroc has to offer. Enjoy access to classes and state-of-the-art equipment where you can focus on your fitness goals. Or explore how our arts, science and education, youth leadership, ministry, culinary arts, and other programs are helping our communities grow stronger. The Boston Kroc offers something for everyone.

The Salvation Army South End Corps
Annually, over 3,400 individuals are served through their emergency assistance programs

• Emergency Utilities Assistance/Good Neighbor Energy Fund
• Emergency Furniture Assistance
• Emergency Clothing Assistance
• Emergency Rent/Mortgage Assistance
• Food Pantry Assistance
• Energy Efficiency Funds Assistance
• Christmas Assistance

For more information on these services, please contact the South End Corps at 617-536-5260 or visit them at 1500 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118.

The Salvation Army also runs Family Thrift stores where you can score great deals on clothing, home goods, and electronics.

• Somerville Store
  • 487 Broadway
  • Somerville, MA 02145
  • 800-728-7825
  • Bosadm@use.salvationarmy.org

Somerville Store
487 Broadway
Somerville, MA 02145

St. James Helping Hands Food Pantry

Helping Hand Food Pantry operates on the second Saturday of each month from 9:30am-12:30pm at the Fresh Pond Apartments, 364 Rindge Avenue, offering a wide variety of fresh, frozen, and packaged grocery items to those in need of them.

In the new age of COVID-19, they have instituted new safety procedures and now provide each guest with individual bags of produce and boxes of dry goods rather than inviting guests in to browse.

Donations of unexpired canned and packaged food goods and cleaning supplies (e.g., hand sanitizer) can be dropped off at their location. Drop-off hours are on the second Friday of each month from 10am-12pm and the second Saturday of each month from 7:30-9:30am.

9:30am-12:30pm on the second Saturday of each month

Straight Ahead Ministries

Reentry services for young men and women transitioning out of DYS or adult prisons or jails back into Boston

9-5

Weekend Emergency Food Pantry – Church of the Covenant

The Weekend Emergency Food Pantry program offered by Church of the Covenant provides free groceries and other necessities to Boston residents in urgent need. It operates out of the back entry at Church of the Covenant. The building is located at the corner of Berkeley and Newbury Streets in Boston’s Back Bay and the food pantry entry is down the alley off of Berkeley Street.

Sat & Sun: 10am - 12pm

People seeking assistance should bring photo identification. Visits are limited to once per month.