Supported by Boston Resiliency Fund
This program has now been completed
Healthy Food, Healthy Communities
Healthy Families & Helpful Businesses
In an innovative initiative to tackle the food and economic crisis in our neighborhood together, Eastie Farm partnered with restaurants Bon Me and Tawakal to bring healthy, tasty food to families hit hard by the fallouts of COVID. Both restaurants are beloved in our communities, and are capable of meeting the needs of the hour while practicing safe social distancing in their cooking facilities.
On behalf of our community, we at Eastie Farm are grateful to the City of Boston for making it possible for us to
- bring more than 5000 tasty, healthy, meals each week to families in East Boston and Chinatown
- support Bon Me (Asian-inspired cuisine) and Tawakal Halal Cafe (Halal cuisine) by paying them _at cost_ for the meals; this helps these businesses keep people employed and the lights on; many employees of these restaurants are East Boston residents
- serve families that are confined to their home due to sickness or the presence of vulnerable family members, by bringing the food to their doorsteps
- build community by connecting those who are able to help with those who need the help
This work is being done with guidance from the City Office of Food Access and the Office of Immigrant Advancement.
Food distribution and delivery is supported by
- the Wang Center YMCA in Chinatown
- the Mutual Aid Network in East Boston
Families benefiting from the program come from, but are not limited to, the clients of
- Boston Chinese Neighborhood Council
- Mutual Aid Eastie
- Zumix
- Donald McKay K-8 School, East Boston
- CCDS, East Boston
- East Boston Community Soup Kitchen
- Early Education Center, East Boston
- East Boston Harborside Community School
We thank Mothers Out Front for getting us started early on with this model. We thank Mutual Aid Eastie volunteers whose patient and hours-long delivery work made it possible for families recovering from COVID and families at high risk to stay home. We thank BCNC for connecting their clients with this service. And we thank the YMCA (Wang Center, Chinatown) for offering their space and staff to serve our food to adults in Chinatown.
If you are a resident of East Boston in need of food assistance, you may sign up at eastiefarm.com/food
LatinX families enjoying Bon Me’s Asian-inspired cuisine
The hardest hit families in East Boston were LatinX, having lost their livelihoods and finding it difficult to make ends meet, while in some cases also suffering from COVID-caused illness and loss of family members.
Halal Food for Muslim Families
During the month of Ramadan, as the Somali, Algerian, and Moroccan families in our communities were fasting during the day, they appreciate having food to break their fast in the evening.
Culturally relevant food in Chinatown
Wang YMCA and BCNC
“Para acerles llegar mis agradecimientos por la comida de aller q fue entragada ami casa dios les page en bundancia y decirles todo es muy bien aprovechado en mi familia ya q estamos en proceso se recuperacion por el virus muchas gracias”
“My daughter loves the Broccoli from Bon Me”
“I have never had Somali food. I loved it. It was so delicious.”