Sudbury Community Food Pantry To Expand Services With Nearly $10K Grant

WAYLAND, MA — The Sudbury Community Food Pantry received nearly $10,000 to expand its capacity as it serves more clients from its new facility.

The Greater Boston Food Bank awarded the money through its Community Investment Grant program. The funding will pay for technology upgrades, professional website translation, cold storage, and equipment, including tables and a digital scale, the pantry's Executive Director, John Thomas, told Patch.

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The food pantry celebrated its grand opening at its new home at 534 Boston Post Rd. in Wayland last year. The new 3,250-square-foot facility, finished in August 2025, is the food pantry's first permanent home.

'Nearly $10,000 Makes A Meaningful Difference'

The organization sought funding to address challenges created by rising demand and its move into a larger facility, Thomas told Patch.

He said the number of people served during each distribution rose from 64 to a peak of 101 during the federal government shutdown and suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits last fall. Although that immediate increase later declined, the pantry still serves more people on average than it did before the shutdown.

"For an all-volunteer organization, nearly $10,000 makes a meaningful difference," Thomas told Patch. "It allows us to make several investments at once that directly support our ability to serve clients."

The pantry plans to purchase computers, an iPad, a printer and barcode-scanning equipment as it replaces its volunteer-built client database with a professional management system. The new system will allow people to register more efficiently and help volunteers track visits and food distributions electronically, Thomas said.

Grant money will also fund professional translations of key website pages into Spanish, Portuguese and French. The translated pages will provide information about registration, operating hours and access to pantry services.

Additional refrigeration and freezer capacity will allow the pantry to accept and store more meat, eggs, cheese, milk and fresh produce, Thomas said.

"The overall goal is pretty simple: less time dealing with manual processes and storage limitations and more capacity to get good food to people who need it," Thomas said.

How Can People In The Community Help?

The pantry is seeking volunteers to unload deliveries, stock shelves, prepare distributions and help with administrative work. Financial donations allow the organization to purchase food and equipment and respond to changing needs, Thomas said.

"And, of course, people can help by spreading the word," Thomas told Patch. "There are still many people in our communities who are struggling to afford food, and making sure they know that the Pantry is available to anyone who needs help is one of the most useful things our community can do."

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