Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s New Home

By Soben Ung

Lowell, MA — the Merrimack Valley Food Bank (MVFB) has moved into its newly renovated location at 1703 Middlesex Street in Lowell after operating out of a warehouse at Broadway Street for 29 years. Over the last three decades, MVFB grew exponentially – adding five direct service programs to serve populations vulnerable to food insecurity and growing its food distribution program to nearly 4 million pounds of food annually to serve approximately 70,000 people each month.
The newly renovated building on Middlesex Street represents a huge step in the Food Bank’s growth. The space was purchased in July of 2022 upon contingency that the old warehouse will be sold to the Boston Properties, a real estate investment firm to build affordable housing units, a deal that finalized last summer. The Merrimack Valley Food Bank new location, which formerly was indoor sports complex is now a 25,000 square foot warehouse is alsocomprised of a lobby, prep kitchen, conference room, and offices, a kind of working environment that the old warehouse did not have such accommodations. “Anyone who has had a chance to visit our previous home will understand the excitement our staff feels walking into our brand-new home every day!,” stated on the MVFB’s website.

Merrimack Valley Food Bank serves 32 cities and towns by providing direct service programs and partnerships with other hunger relief organizations.
“We really have an incredible team of staff and board members who are so committed to our vision of fighting food insecurity. Their dedication and hard work, and the hard work of the staff and board over the course of the organization’s 33 year history, have made it possible for us to be in this position where we can look forward to expanding our services and helping more people who are just trying to feed their families. It’s really a special time at MVFB,” said Executive Director Debbie Callery.