Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families is a grant from The Boston Foundation that funds nonprofit organizations working to address food insecurity and strengthen safety net systems in Eastern Massachusetts.

Launched in response to rising food insecurity and federal funding cuts, the initiative distributes critical funding through grantmaking, donor partnerships, research, and advocacy to protect access to quality food for Massachusetts residents. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations in Eastern Massachusetts focused on food security and basic food-related needs. Grant amounts are unspecified and the initiative is ongoing.

Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families - TBF Donate to support this initiative Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families is an evolving initiative that uses the Foundation’s grantmaking, donor partnerships, research, convening, and advocacy power to distribute critical funding that responds to current need, identifies paths to protect critical systems and institutions, and collaboratively reimagines what a more resilient, robust safety net could look like.

We are launching this effort with a commitment across our Foundation and in partnership with our donors, nonprofit leaders and organizations and civic leaders at the local, regional and state levels. We will work to ensure that every person in our city and region is able to access quality food as part of our broader efforts to meet this moment and defend the rights, health and wellbeing of everyone who calls Massachusetts home.

Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families is an evolving effort - please check back here and elsewhere on TBF. org for more announcements and information as this work takes shape, and for ways you can be a part of this effort or access the opportunities it provides. "In Massachusetts, we are going to do everything possible to protect access to food for families despite the federal government's cuts.

The leadership of philanthropic organizations like the Boston Foundation is essential to our ability to meet this moment and deliver for our people."

Our ongoing commitment to supporting vital food programs and a stronger regional system to address hunger Prompted by rising food insecurity and cuts to federal food programs, the Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families initiative was launched in August 2025, building partnerships with donors, civic organizations and nonprofits in a multi-part effort to address hunger and food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts.

Read the kickoff announcement January 2026: Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families work continues with $1 million in new grants to 51 nonprofits As the Sustaining Families work enters its third phase, the Boston Foundation, our partners, and our donors have collectively distributed $6. 7 million in aid to local families and organizations in less than six months.

November 2025: TBF announces over $1 million in new grants for food-related work by nonprofits The latest grants, to 61 organizations, bring the total distributed by TBF, our partners and our community of donors to over $4. 6 million, with more than $6 million raised to date in support of organizations committed to meeting the basic food needs of our community.

September 2025: TBF partners with donors to distribute $900,000 for second round of grants to 9 regional food nonprofits The new round of grants was seeded with $500,000 from TBF's Fund for Boston’s Future, which donors quickly supplemented as part of the Foundation’s long-term commitment to meeting basic needs.

August 2025: For first investment of this initiative, TBF commits a $1 million grant to the Greater Boston Food Bank The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes as much as 80 percent of the food supplied to food pantries across the Commonwealth.

Leadership Longevity Fellowship for Food System Leaders This fall, TBF and a group of nonprofit partners announced the Leadership Longevity Fellowship for Food System Leaders , an innovative nine-month program for nonprofit leaders working to alleviate food insecurity who are ready to grow their individual capacity for well-being and impact, as they forge partnerships to help address broader needs in the food system.

This 2026 fellowship cohort , developed and supported by the Boston Foundation , the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF), and New Sector Alliance , builds upon two successful pilot cohorts with TBF grantee partners in 2023 and 2025 , honing New Sector Alliance’s science-backed curriculum and leadership development program to help address rising burnout amongst nonprofit leaders.

The program kicks off in January 2026 and will invite up to 15 mid-career, frontline nonprofit leaders from TBF’s Sustaining Families Initiative and CCF’s Food Access and Security Initiative to participate, offering a blend of in-person and virtual retreats, coaching sessions, peer learning circles, and a culminating fellowship project and public convening, to ensure that the fellows have the tools, strategies, and networks of support to collaborate, adapt and lead through a time of immense change and increased demand for services.

We are already seeing a sharp rise in food insecurity. Significant and immediate cuts to SNAP—particularly for legal immigrants and mixed-status families—has deepened the urgency to stabilize the critical organizations and systems that are simply too important to fail.

Right now, nearly 1 in 3 adults in Massachusetts has experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months according to 2024’s Food Equity and Access in Massachusetts: Voices and Solutions from Lived Experience , a collaboration between the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) and Mass General Brigham (MGB).

Our Boston Indicators team identified the areas most impacted, using data on SNAP usage, foreign-born households, children, employment status, and disability. This all points to a system under strain: The GBFB—the central “hub” that distributes 80% of the food supply to partner pantries across the Commonwealth — is now facing significant reductions in funding, just as demand is anticipated to rise by 50% or more.

At the same time, the hundreds of “spoke” organizations—trusted local food pantries, farms, and community providers that serve neighborhoods directly—are also overextended and under-resourced.

Our work to address current and emerging needs requires a coordinated, full-system response that reflects a framework that guides everything we do: Listen to community – We begin by engaging trusted partners on the ground to understand urgent needs and lived experiences. Follow the research – We use data from Boston Indicators and partners to identify where support is most needed and will have the greatest impact.

Convene the system – We bring together stakeholders across philanthropy, government, nonprofit, and business to align efforts and coordinate a unified response. Advocate for systems change – We use our voice, platform, and relationships to influence public policy, elevate community priorities, and help shape more equitable, lasting solutions.

Partner with donors – We collaborate with our philanthropic community to raise awareness, mobilize funding, and drive collective action where it’s needed most. Invest through grantmaking – We deploy flexible, responsive funding to stabilize critical organizations and meet both immediate needs and longer-term priorities. Track and refine – We measure outcomes, share what we learn, and remain accountable to the communities we serve.

Spotlight on Sustaining Families 'Shining a bright light on what true leadership looks like' - remarks by Lee Pelton delivered at the October 31 press conference announcing a collaborative effort between TBF and the City of Boston Boston Indicators data analysis estimates at least 40,000 SNAP recipients in Greater Boston at risk from proposed cuts When policy fails the people, we must lead with moral courage - Lee Pelton, President and CEO of TBF Lee Pelton's "Bold Types" profile by the Boston Globe highlights TBF's grants to strengthen our region’s food systems Donate Below to Expand This Initiative You can easily make a donation to directly support this initiative.

Just be sure to specify "Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families" if donating by check. From a Donor Advised Fund Support this initiative from a Donor Advised Fund by recommending grants to "the Boston Foundation" for the purpose of "Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families." Questions or other forms of donation To make other types of donations, or if you have a donor-related question, email our Donor Services team.

Email donorservices@tbf. org “This is not a time to rest. It is a time to be restless—and relentless—in the pursuit of what is right and just.

” – Lee Pelton, President and CEO of TBF Update on TBF’s Full Efforts to Meet the Moment