Hunger Relief
NCF Farm staff delivering produce to the Needham Community Council Food Pantry
Our Food Donation Program is an integral part of NCF's mission and our hunger relief efforts. This program has two produce donation channels: 1) the Needham Community Council Food Pantry and 2) Our free-of-charge Mobile Market at Needham Public Housing Authority sites. Each year, we aim to donate approximately 50% of the food we grow through these two channels.
Twice a week during the harvest season NCF drives our Mobile Market to the Linden and Chambers, Seabed Way, and Captain Robert Cook Drive Housing Authority neighborhoods. Once there, we set up our free-of-charge produce donation market available to all residents.
In addition, every Monday and Tuesday during harvest season we deliver produce directly to the Needham Community Council Food Pantry.
In 2025, NCF delivered our most impactful year yet: we provided over 9,000 pounds of fresh, culturally inclusive produce to more than 800 low-income residents alongside continuing our farmland expansion to increase healthy food access. This 2025 food donation amount represented a significant 38% increase over the previous year and was valued at over $40,000.
Project Bread reported that in 2024, food insecurity affected more than 1 in 3 Massachusetts households, around 2 million adults, at some point during the year. This dire statistic is also prior to the significant cuts in hunger relief measures at the Federal level in 2025, indicating that this crisis only worsens.
NCF expects to see a higher number of families accessing our Mobile Market in 2026 in comparison to 2025, as well as additional growth in those who visit the Council Food Pantry, as a result of these issues.
If you'd like to support our hunger relief efforts, you can donate here!