The Newton Food Pantry brought together state officials, local leaders, and community supporters Thursday afternoon to mark construction progress on its future home at 131 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale. The single-story building — scheduled to open in May 2026 — represents a major expansion for the organization, which has operated for years out of the basement of Newton City Hall.
Progress
Sindy Wayne, president of the Newton Food Pantry’s Board of Directors, told Fig City News she’s encouraged by how the project has advanced, which she credit to the architectural firm Scott/Griffin Architects and construction management company Pidgeon & Co.
Wayne said the move to a larger space will allow the pantry to expand its hours, add wrap-around services such as financial literacy classes, and increase storage for both perishable and nonperishable food. The new building will also feature a waiting area and 25 parking spaces for clients.
“This building is going to elevate our clients’ experience and make it even easier and more comfortable,” she said.
Many thanks
Wayne expressed gratitude to the community members and donors who made the project possible.
“We couldn’t have reached this milestone without the generous financial support of so many individuals, some of whom are here today,” she said.
Wayne told attendees the 5,000-square-foot facility will be more than double the size of the pantry’s current space in City Hall.
“Operating from this building will allow us to expand our reach and impact,” she said. “We’ll be able to serve even more households that struggle.”
Impending SNAP crisis
Executive Director Jeff Lemberg said Thursday’s celebration comes at a difficult moment for thousands of residents, as the federal government prepares to roll back Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits nationwide.
He said about 4,300 Newton residents rely on SNAP and roughly 6,000 experience food insecurity. The Newton Food Pantry currently serves about 2,500 people.
“We’re fielding call after call from scared people in the city looking to find out what they can do,” Lemberg said.
Lemberg outlined a new three-year strategic plan focused on reaching more households, expanding services through multilingual volunteers and wraparound programs, and strengthening the financial resources needed to sustain growth.
“While we’re meeting the moment now in City Hall, we’re building for the future here,” he said, glancing around the skeletal frame of the new building.
To help offset the loss of SNAP benefits, Lemberg announced that clients will receive $20 grocery store gift cards with each visit during November.
“It won’t make them whole,” he said, “but it will help give them a little something.”
Lemberg said the pantry has long prioritized careful financial management, building reserves during stable periods so it can respond quickly in times of crisis.
“When times are normal, we save where we can,” he said. “When times aren’t normal, like right now, we spend.”
All hands on deck
As demand rises amid the SNAP benefit suspension, Wayne told Fig City News the pantry is focused on providing fresh, healthy food, which is often out-of-reach for families on tight budgets.
“We particularly invest in fresh fruits and vegetables that are so expensive in the grocery store, and are critical to the health of anyone who comes to shop or receive our services,” Wayne said.
Wayne noted that the end of the year is a key fundraising period for the pantry.
“This time of year is significant for fundraising for most organizations,” she said. “We’ll be assessing along the way if we need to do even more than we normally do.”
Wayne said that pantry staff have already met with Newton’s Health and Human Services Department to ensure that residents continue to have access to the food resources they need.
State Senator Cynthia Creem, who represents Newton and attended Thursday’s event, said the SNAP benefit suspension poses a dire challenge that the state government cannot fully offset.
Creem said Massachusetts leaders are exploring ways to soften the blow — including coordination with the United Way and other nonprofits — but the cuts are overwhelming. She estimated the cost of replacing the lost federal benefits at about $21 million per month, far beyond what the state can sustain.
“The state is trying to talk about what we can do,” she said. “We cannot pick up the slack from the federal government.”
Still, Creem said seeing the Newton Food Pantry’s new site gives her hope amid the uncertainty, noting that local efforts will be essential to meeting residents’ needs.
“I’m proud that we in Newton are going to be able to do something like this,” she said.
The Pantry’s future
Lemberg emphasized that the Newton Food Pantry operates as an independent nonprofit, with no direct City or State funding. Everything the organization achieves, he said, depends on community generosity. The new facility, he added, is designed to meet Newton’s growing food needs.
“We’ve long known we needed more space to serve the full need of the community,” Lemberg said.
He described the pantry’s challenge as twofold: responding to the immediate emergency caused by the federal SNAP freeze while laying the foundation for the future. To keep up with demand, the pantry is calling on residents to continue donating.
“We spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars a year purchasing food for distribution, and we need the community’s help to meet this moment,” he said.
Lemberg praised board president Sindy Wayne, the entire board of directors, and the staff for their teamwork, noting that the pantry recently adopted a three-year strategic plan centered on outreach to seniors and families with young children — “the two bookends of vulnerability.” The plan also aims to reach more households, expand services through multilingual volunteers and wraparound programs, and strengthen the financial resources needed to sustain growth.
“While we’re meeting the moment now in City Hall, we’re building for the future here,” Lemberg said, glancing around the skeletal frame of the new building.
Cindy Arcate, a Newton Food Pantry board member, said the current SNAP suspension has placed the organization in an especially difficult position.
“It’s scary because it’s going to place a huge demand on our organization that we’ll do everything we can to meet, but we’re constrained not only by money, but by space,” she said.
Wayne emphasized that sustainability has always been central to the pantry’s mission.
“We want to make sure it has the financial, human, and now physical resources to serve the community in perpetuity.”
To support the Newton Food Pantry, visit newtonfoodpantry.org.
