Massasoit Community College Offers Balanced Meals to Students

Nutritious lunch options have improved for the over 200 students who utilize the food pantry on Massasoit Community College’s Brockton campus. Every Monday through Thursday, students can access free snacks, lunches, and drinks to ensure they have the fuel they need to focus on academics. The pantry previously offered shelf-stable lunch options only, such as ramen noodles and Chef Boyardee. Thanks to a new partnership with Food For Free, the school is now able to provide single-serving microwavable frozen meals, balanced with a protein, starch, and vegetable, through the nonprofit’s Heat-n-Eats program.

Since October, Massasoit Community College has been a recipient of the Food For Free’s Heat-n-Eats program, which takes prepared food from corporate, university, and hospital dining services and turns it into nutritious, balanced, single-serving meals that the nonprofit distributes to food-insecure populations through community partners. On a monthly basis, Massasoit Community College staff members drive over to Food For Free’s Somerville Packing and Distribution Center to pick up approximately 90 meals per month to provide to students facing food insecurity.

“Students are hungry, and food is expensive,” says Ellyn Craig, Massasoit Community College’s Senior Special Program Coordinator for Basic Needs Security. “How can students focus on class when their stomachs are rumbling? Some students who are not able to receive SNAP benefits oftentimes do not have the financial resources to purchase food from the cafeteria. We want to be able to feed students with food insecurity so they’re not hungry throughout the day. These meals give students an option for a balanced meal. It’s a great program.”

Many nearby universities, including Lesley University, Emerson College, and Harvard University, are donors for the Heat-n-Eats program. Recipient partners include schools, colleges like Massasoit Community College, and other community programs. Collectively, the program packs and distributes more than 1,000 meals per week.

“With the Heat-n-Eats program, we're not just providing meals; we're weaving a stronger community fabric, emphasizing the profound impact of every single meal both to both reduce food waste and feed those in need,” says Molly Hansen, Food For Free’s Senior Program Manager, who runs Heat-n-Eats. “The access point of education is key as we know many students struggle to work their way through school, balancing multiple jobs, courses, family responsibilities, and then need to think of a way to eat moreover. The frozen meals offer busy college students an opportunity to enjoy a healthy, hot meal during their day so they can focus on everything else – it’s one more thing we can take off their plates.”

As one of the nation’s first food rescue organizations, Food For Free now serves more than 150,000 Massachusetts residents facing food insecurity and distributes 6.2 million pounds of nutritious fresh and prepared foods annually. For more information and to become a Heat-n-Eats food donor, visit: www.foodforfree.org.