40,000 pounds of donated food to be distributed across Boston-area food pantries as part of nationwide initiative

A truckload of 40,000 pounds of donated food arrived in Boston as part of a nationwide initiative through the Mormon Church and American250 Commission. Religious leaders highlighted the importance of looking out for neighbors amid growing food insecurity.

“This wonderful donation of 40,000 pounds of food from our friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints demonstrates that food insecurity knows no boundaries of faith, race, or social economic level,” said Bishop Cristiano Barbosa of the Archdiocese of Boston. “As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States Fourth of July, when our nation adopted the Declaration of Independence, we owe it to people struggling now and in the future to eliminate food insecurity in this country.”

The massive truckload, which unloaded at Dorchester’s Catholic Charities Yawkey Center food pantry, is one of 250 going out around the country from the American250 Commission and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The delivery marks the initiative’s halfway point, with 125 truckloads delivered over the course of the year. Between 9 to 10 million pounds of food will be delivered across the country through the initiative in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

With deliveries to Alaska and Hawaii earlier this week, all 50 states have now been reached with at least one truckload of food, said Elder Allen Haynie, the U.S. Northeast Area President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“At a time when so much can divide us, service has a unique power to unite us and change us for the better,” said Haynie. “Perhaps nothing will strengthen our country more than people and goodwill working side by side to help those in need. That’s what this effort represents. It reflects love of neighbor, gratitude for the blessings and abundance we enjoy, and a shared determination to build a stronger, more caring nation.”

Religious leaders emphasized the growing need in the area, with Barbosa citing a Greater Boston Food Bank report on hunger in Massachusetts — “a record 40% of Massachusetts households, approximately 1.1 million families, experienced food insecurity in 2025.”

“More than 1 million of our neighbors, including friends, families, and children, do not have enough to eat daily,” said Barbosa. “That is a sobering number in a state that has the highest median household income in the United States.”

With the “amount of need we’re seeing,” said Catholic Charities Vice President for Basic Needs Jonathan Tetrault, they expect the food to be given out within a week across the four food pantries in Brockton, Dorchester, L

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