In 2024, the Greater Boston Food Bank found that, across Massachusetts, 1 in 3 individuals do not have enough food or the means to buy food. Newton, a city known for its wealth, is no exception to the impact of food insecurity.
Rose Saia, executive director of the Centre Street Food Pantry, said Newton’s food insecurity rate is between 5% and 7%, based on federal documentation of individuals living on fixed incomes, meeting federal poverty guidelines, or receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. That means at least 1 in 20 Newton residents is food-insecure. Newton Food Pantry, Centre Street Food Pantry, and the Arabic Baptist Church Food & Clothing Pantry aim to address their needs.
While this rate of food insecurity does not seem high, Saia said it reflects the data-driven methodology rather than reality: Some residents are not included in the data because they do not meet federal poverty guidelines or qualify for SNAP. These are typically families with children, working adults struggling to pay for healthcare, and senior citizens.
Executive director of Newton Food Pantry Jeff Lemberg said that other inflation-affected costs besides food – like gas, healthcare, and even housing – threaten food security, as well.
Still, food insecurity is not only about finances or hunger, said Saia, because it is also about constantly worrying about not being able to afford healthy food.
“There’s a real mental health aspect to food insecurity, because those who are food insecure, who are providing, are trying to always juggle [costs],” she said.
In a statement to Fig City News, Newton’s Commissioner of Health and Human Services Department Shin-Yi Lao said the City works with food-insecure residents by assisting with government program applications and connecting them with resources.
Emily Kuhl, manager of Newton’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), said that state government support, through…