ABCD is proud to announce that we have been awarded $250,000 from the Office of Community Services, an Office of the Administration for Children and Families. This funding will be used to launch the GoodBEANS program (Building Efficiency and Access in Nutritious Services), which is designed to bring more food to those in need by strengthening our food systems.
GoodBEANS aims to improve the network of food services through the refinement, modernization, and expansion of ABCD’s food services. The program will update food pantries, continue grocery delivery services, and integrate emergency food services into other support systems. The goals of GoodBEANS include making food provisions simple and satisfactory for clients, increasing the distribution of fresh produce to clients, and targeting services to those who are most in need.
This funding will allow ABCD to procure additional supplies of fresh produce to supplement shelf-stable goods currently available at our food pantries. Furthermore it will allow ABCD to build upon the extremely successful food delivery programming that provides fresh groceries to the doorsteps of clients in need. Lastly, GoodBEANS includes plans to update our internal service planning system to maximize food distribution by increasing referrals and implementing joint service planning across ABCD programs.
Implementation of GoodBEANS allows ABCD to build on the valuable lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic response; food insecurity had increased drastically for low-income households across Greater Boston and the appropriate response is multi-faceted. ABCD’s continued response to this crisis will provide adaptive food services programming to those most in need to assist in keeping their fridges and pantries full no matter what turn the pandemic takes.
