Press Release: Annex Purchase Expands Capabilities

Open Table Expands Capabilities with Purchase of Adjacent Building on Main Street in Maynard

With more on-site food storage, nonprofit is better able to fight food insecurity in the Metro West area

Concord and Maynard, MA (September 6, 2022) – Open Table, the Concord and Maynard charity dedicated to fighting hunger and building healthy communities, today announced that it has purchased a building at 39 Main Street in Maynard that is adjacent to its existing pantry and offices. The new annex space will enable Open Table to keep more food onsite and, in turn, better support its growing client base with both on-site food distribution as well as its prepared meals and its growing mobile programs.

A standalone building located directly behind the Open Table food pantry at 33 Main Street, the annex has a 3000-square-foot main floor with high ceilings  as well as an additional 1500 square feet of storage on the second floor. The building’s combination of size and proximity offer numerous advantages and allow for the possibility of a best use Open Table complex on Main Street in Maynard.

“The new space allows Open Table to be more flexible and adaptable in our programming and use of our existing facilities at 33 Main Street,” said Jeanine Calabria, executive director of Open Table. “For instance, with more food on hand, Open Table can increase the number of people we are serving via partnerships to provide both prepared meals and mobile pantry services. And, for those clients who opt for in-person shopping, we’re also able to offer a wider selection of food and prepared meals.”

Specifically, the new Open Table annex will enable the organization to support:

• In-person shopping at the Maynard pantry, which had been suspended during Covid, will be able to resume;
• More choice for shoppers who will have a wider variety of produce and other groceries to include in their weekly pantry pick-ups;
• Expanded mobile programs with dedicated storage and distribution space in the new facility.

With an eye to reaching the estimated 66% of food insecure households in the Metro West area who are not currently accessing a food pantry[1], Open Table hopes to provide more pantry hours during the weekend and early evening hours when more low income and immigrant working families can be served as clients or serve as volunteers.

Currently Open Table distributes bags of groceries, which include fresh produce, proteins, dairy, baked goods, and shelf-stable produces, to over 300 households each week and provides over 1000 prepared meals to clients that hail from the Metro West suburbs.  Open Table has received incredible support from the communities it serves through donations of food and funds, making it possible to continue to address food insecurity in the MetroWest area.

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[1] According to a recent study, “Gaps in Food Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Massachusetts,” conducted by the Greater Boston Food Bank, among Massachusetts adults facing food insecurity during the pandemic, only 1 in 3 reported using food pantries and 1 in 2 reported using SNAP.