Our New Pantry

Exciting progress is underway at the future home of the Newton Food Pantry. Construction of our brand-new, single-story pantry — located at 131 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale — is now more than halfway complete and we remain on schedule to open the building in late spring of this year.  

At that time, the Newton Food Pantry will officially move out of the basement of City Hall, where we have operated for nearly 10 years.

Our new pantry, which was made possible thanks to an unsolicited donation of land by a local developer, has truly come to life over the last several months. Led by the construction management company Pidgeon & Co., framing is complete, and all windows, insulation, drywall, and HVAC systems have been installed. Inside the building, critical infrastructure for food storage and safety is now in place — including our walk-in refrigerator, walk-in freezer, and dedicated produce storage room. Exterior siding, permanent awnings and our warehouse loading door have also been installed.

The Newton Food Pantry’s new home, located between Extra Space Storage and the city’s Resource Recovery Center, will feature 25 on-site parking spaces for clients as well as a large and comfortable waiting area. Staff and volunteers will park across the street, at the Packard Cove Office Park on Rumford Avenue. (There are also two MBTA bus lines that pick up and drop off close by.)

When complete, our new food pantry will reflect a simple but powerful idea: accessing healthy food should be easy, welcoming and familiar. Scott Griffin Architects in Waltham designed our building to be a bright and inviting space, similar to a new neighborhood grocery store. To that end, we will continue to operate as a “choice pantry,” whereby clients can select for themselves — free of charge! — the fresh and nutritious foods they need and want. There is dignity in choice and satisfaction in selection. 

Looking ahead, the Newton Food Pantry’s new building will also reflect our commitment to long-term sustainability and financial stewardship. Thanks to a recent grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, we will be installing rooftop solar panels and an energy storage system to help us minimize and manage electricity costs. The savings generated by this renewable system will be reinvested directly into our work — allowing us to expand client services and to support more Newton residents struggling with food insecurity.

As construction continues over the coming months, we remain forever grateful for the community support that has made this project possible. Founded in 1983, the Newton Food Pantry is the oldest and largest nonprofit hunger-relief organization dedicated to Newton residents in need. We are deeply proud of our history, and we cannot wait for you to see our future!