The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities to almost 1,100 individuals per year. The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Other programs include home delivery, Weekend Backpack Program for Franklin school children in need, mobile pantry, emergency food bags and holiday meal packages. The Pantry is located at 43 W. Central St. in Franklin on Route 140 across from the Franklin Fire Station.
In fiscal year 2021, we served 1097 people
- 625 adults
- 295 children
- 177 seniors
We provided 25,850 bags of groceries that included fresh produce, proteins, eggs, dairy products, household supplies and personal care items. In October 2021, we shifted to a hybrid method of distribution. Neighbors can visit us weekly for either a curbside distribution or for appointment-based in-person shopping.
Typical neighbors include working families trying to make ends meet, people experiencing a temporary job loss, individuals whose SNAP (food stamps) benefits are reduced, and seniors. Seniors often seek help because most are on a fixed income and are impacted by higher medication and health care costs.
The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Please visit our annual report for more information.
There is no charge to clients for Pantry items or services.
Programs include:
- The Mobile Pantry which delivers food monthly to select neighborhoods where people have difficulty getting to the Pantry
- Weekend Backpack Program which provides weekend meals and snacks to Franklin elementary school children in need
- Carts for Clients which provides free, portable shopping carts to neighbors who need a little extra help in transporting their groceries
- Summer Farmers Market providing fresh, locally grown produce to our neighbors
- Healthy Futures Market that offers fresh fruits and vegetables which are not affordable for many families.
- Home delivery for qualified neighbors who can’t get to the Pantry
- Emergency Food Bags
- Holiday distribution for Thanksgiving, December holidays and July 4th
- Kids bags customized bags for our younger neighbors
- Learn how to get help.
Because we are a “client-choice” pantry, visitors are empowered to select only what they need to meet their own personal dietary needs. Many pantries provide fixed boxes of food where clients do not have an opportunity to choose their items.
As a member agency of The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the Franklin Food Pantry is part of the GBFB objective of providing at least one meal a day to those in need. Learn more about this partnership.
