Catalina López-Ospina Hits the Pavement to Fight Food Insecurity

HYDE PARK, Mass. – Growing up in Colombia, Catalina López-Ospina assumed people were rich in America. It wasn’t until she arrived in Boston to continue her higher education that she saw people struggling to meet their basic needs, including food. She is an example of that as she put her dreams on hold to survive, working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Many of her own family members relied on assistance programs, like SNAP and WIC, and she remembers seeing others close to her hesitate to utilize such relief due to concerns about stigma associated with accepting help. She has since built a career helping to develop pathways to empower people to help themselves.

As Vice President of Engagement for Project Bread, the leading statewide anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts, López-Ospina leads the nonprofit’s Community Engagement Department. On a daily basis, she engages individuals and families facing food insecurity in conversations and brings their experience to help shape the resources and policies that directly impact them. She works closely with Project Bread’s community partners to support community-led solutions enabling the organization to create sustainable and systemic solutions. Many of these anti-hunger advocates will unite to participate in Project Bread’s upcoming Walk for Hunger, joining the nonprofit’s statewide effort to end hunger for good.

“Even though the COVID-19 public emergency has ended, hunger is still prevalent throughout the Commonwealth at alarming rates,” says López-Ospina, an eight-time Walk for Hunger participant and former Patrick Hughes Award honoree for her previous anti-hunger achievements with the Boston Mayor’s Office of Food Access. “By bringing people with lived experience into our work, we can better understand their needs and challenges and advocate for our communities in a way that is most beneficial to them. Participating in the Walk for Hunger is one way residents can join in this effort to ensure everyone has enough to eat.”

Set for Sunday, May 7, registration is open for Project Bread’s 55th annual Walk for Hunger. Back in person for the first time since 2019, more than 3,000 Massachusetts residents will gather on the Boston Common and hundreds of others will participate remotely for the one-day fundraising event to raise more than $1 million. New this year, there will be several family-friendly activations along the Boston Common three-mile route to raise awareness for food insecurity, nutrition resources available and other ways to get involved through the nonprofit to help neighbors in need.

Money raised through the Walk is funding Project Bread’s urgent mission to ensure kids have reliable access to food, to directly help individuals and families, and to advocate at the state and federal levels for expedited and efficient relief for those in need. Walk funds are also supporting community organizations that are helping people access food locally and ensuring communities have the resources necessary to respond to the hunger crisis now and over the long road to recovery ahead.

“Catalina has laid the groundwork for us to more deeply engage with people experiencing hunger and proactively connect with organizations advancing local hunger solutions statewide,” shares Erin McAleer, President and CEO of Project Bread. “Catalina’s work plays a critical role in our development of sustainable solutions led by the people most impacted by food insecurity and helps uphold the vision of ‘The People’s Walk,’ as community members come together to support their neighbors and solve hunger statewide.”

To register for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger, or to support a walker or team, visit projectbread.org/walk or call (617) 723-5000. There is no registration fee or fundraising minimum to participate, although a $250 minimum goal is suggested. Participants who raise $500 or more are recognized as Heart & Sole walkers and receive access to personalized fundraising support, exclusive event gear, and invitations to events.

About Project Bread

Project Bread, the leading statewide anti-hunger nonprofit, connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food, while advocating for policies that make food more accessible—so that no one goes hungry. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org.

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