The Hingham Food Project
What Is It?
The Hingham Food Project is a collaboration between HinghamLink, the Hingham Food Pantry, Market2Day, the Hingham Fruit Center, local restaurants and food trucks, and the South Shore Food Truck Association.
Our mission is to make sure everyone in Hingham has enough food during the Coronavirus crisis — every day.
There are five components to the Hingham Food Project:
- HinghamLink volunteers helping to support the mission of the Hingham Food Pantry
- Connecting people with Market 2Day, which delivers food from several virtual Farmers Markets
- HinghamLink volunteers delivering food from the Hingham Fruit Center and other grocery stores
- Supporting Hingham restaurants offering take-out options
- Fundraising so food trucks & the South Shore Food Truck Association can deliver to people at risk
Why Is This Important?
As the Coronavirus crisis unfolds, we’re concerned that senior citizens, disabled people, those on a fixed income, and other vulnerable people may have to choose between staying home to be safe from COVID-19 or going out to buy food, or between paying for food vs. paying for other necessities of life.
As Hingham residents pull together to navigate this crisis, we want everyone to know there are people working on this, planning for various scenarios, and creating new solutions to ensure no one goes hungry.
Who's Involved?
This is a collaborative project between the Hingham Food Pantry, the Hingham Farmers Market and Market2Day, the Hingham Fruit Center Marketplace, Town of Hingham’s Health Department, local food trucks and the South Shore Food Truck Association, and HinghamLink.
Roles of The Participating Groups
The Hingham Food Pantry has seen an increase in the number of families served, and needs our support with occasional volunteers, food donations, and financial support.
The days and hours for food donations may be found on the Food Pantry Facebook page, or you can call (781) 740-8180 (please drop food off only at designated times).
Checks made out to “Hingham Food Pantry” may be mailed to 685 Main Street, Hingham MA 02043.
Market2Day is a web site & mobile app.
It offers shopping and delivery from several virtual Farmers Markets and other locations to customers’ homes in metro Boston and South Shore.
The Market 2day team's mission is simple: to grow the local food economy by making it easier and more accessible to busy people.
The Hingham Fruit Center Marketplace is selling food safely through their 79 Water Street location, delivered by HinghamLink volunteer drivers.
Social distancing is maintained, and increased cleaning and protections are in place.
The Town of Hingham’s Health Department has updated the list of all Hingham Restaurants (excluding grocery stores) as of March 25, 2020 that are operating on a take-out basis, following the guidance of the Hingham Board of Health and the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health.
Each restaurant lists a phone number and method of ordering you can use to place your order.
The South Shore Food Truck Association is working with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Feeding Task Force in the current state of emergency.
It’s compiling a master list of food trucks throughout Massachusetts, so they can be organized and ready if they are needed to feed the hungry.
Local food trucks including Mom on the Go and Woody’s Goodies will be participating in order to bring hot meals to people at risk.
HinghamLink is accepting donations to help fund the Hingham FoodProject, coordinating and providing volunteers, as well as getting the word out through our website and Facebook group.
When and Where is This Happening?
The program launched on March 4th, 2020 in Hingham. This page will be updated as the program evolves.
How It Works
This program offers two types of services:
Paid
- Order from a virtual Farmers Market via Market2DayApp.com (the app is available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play)
- Visit HinghamLink.com/NeedHelp, send an e-mail to HinghamLink@gmail.com, or call (781) 908-0590, and a HinghamLink volunteer will visit the Fruit Center or another grocery store for you, and then you reimburse the volunteer upon delivery (via Venmo or check)
- Call in an order to one of the great Hingham Restaurants, and pay for it as usual
Unpaid
- Visit the Hingham Food Pantry Facebook page, or call (781) 740-8180 (with HinghamLink volunteers assisting where needed)
- A local food truck will deliver to people at risk, with HinghamLink paying using donations received. This is still in development with the South Shore Food Truck Association
How You Can Help
We’re looking for more volunteers– please sign up here, and we are accepting donations on our site.
If you’re already supporting the Food Pantry, Market2Day, the Hingham Fruit Center, local restaurants and food trucks, please keep doing that!
If you need help, please click here, e-mail us at HinghamLink@gmail.com, or call (781) 908-0590.
Resources
For a PDF version of this article, please click here.
Press Mentions
Hingham Anchor: Hingham Food Project: ensuring that our residents don't go hungry
Hingham Journal: HinghamLink connecting residents during coronavirus isolation
Hingham Journal: Hingham Food Pantry sees 20 percent jump in need during coronavirus shutdowns