Boston-area hotels are stepping up as millions deal with SNAP cuts because of the government shutdown.
The Fairmont Copley Plaza is using an app to offer discounted meals to those in need, while officials at the Seaport Hotel host a food drive.
Questions around food stamps loom large as the shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, goes into its 37th day on Thursday.
With federal funding cuts impacting assistance programs, local nonprofits are asking for help to feed neighbors in need.
“As of 2022, we’ve fed over 6,000 people,” said Kwaku Boah, head chef at the Oak Long Bar + Kitchen at Fairmont Copley Plaza.
Surplus prepared meals are packaged there to be sold at discounted prices.
“What we are offering are things that have been left over, or are not used at all,” Boah said.
Breakfast and dinner options priced at $6.99, available on the Too Good to Go app.
“Too Good to Go is a mobile app whose mission is to ensure reduced food waste and also to fight food insecurity,” Boah said.
Less than three miles away, sitting in the lobby of the Seaport Hotel are piles of donated food to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.
“The Seaport Hotel has just been a long-standing partner in the community, worked very closely with the Boys & Girls Club,” said General Manager Todd Gagnon. “We’re here to take care of the community.”
And its a community that needs it most, as 82% of families involved in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston identify as low-income.
“The food drive is going to run until Nov. 14,” Gagnon said. “You can drop food goods right off here in the lobby, or you can pull right up to the valet, and they would be happy to grab those goods for you.”
Malcolm Johnson
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