Cambridge council gives $1.5M to Cambridge Food Bank for new location

City council has approved $1.5 million in funding for the Cambridge Food Bank ahead of its upcoming move to a new location.

The Cambridge Food Bank is getting a funding boost as they prepare to move to a new location.

During a council meeting on Tuesday, Cambridge councillors unanimously agreed to give the food bank $1.5 million to help pay for their new property at 384 Franklin Boulevard. That money will come from the Core Area Transformation Reserve.

The Cambridge Food Bank had been looking for a new home for years, and finally found the location on Franklin Boulevard that formerly housed Bolt and Nut Supply Ltd.

“It held 31,000 square feet of nuts and bolts. It is basically a blank slate – there are no offices,” Diane McLeod, CEO of the Cambridge Food Bank, explained. “There are no functioning bathrooms. So, we have an extensive renovation planned and we already have received a tremendous amount of support from local trades who are interested in supporting us in transforming the space into a beautiful community hub.”

When the renovations are done, the facility will have a bigger commercial kitchen, expanded areas for programs and a greenhouse.

The Cambridge Food Bank has said the new property cost $4.3 million, and they plan to launch a major fundraising campaign to help transform the space.

The growing need in the community precipitated the need for a bigger location; although the food bank has called Ainslie Street South home for more than two decades, they are now distributing more than one million pounds of food every year. When they first opened their doors on Ainslie Street South, they were giving out approximately 200,000 pounds of food per year.

The Cambridge Food Bank hopes to move into the Franklin Boulevard building in early 2027.