A Cambridge and Somerville-based nonprofit that distributes “rescued” food to food pantries has relaunched its partnership with the Zinberg Clinic at Cambridge Health Alliance.
On the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, Food For Free provides the Zinberg Clinic with 2,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. Nearly 100 patients and their families are served weekly through the partnership.
Stephanie Tyler Smith, vice president of programs at Food For Free, said the nonprofit now distributes food directly to the clinic instead of delivering orders from food banks, as it did pre-pandemic. Food For Free supplies the clinic with food based on the clients’ preferences.
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“We work really hard to tailor it to the needs of the people that are utilizing the clinic,” Smith said. “A lot of them have very high health needs with specific food preferences, and we do our very best to serve them best.”
Founded in 1981, the nonprofit takes rescued, donated, and purchased food from several different sources, including Greater Boston Food Bank, Boston Area Gleaners, dining halls, and grocery stores, and distributes it to smaller food relief organizations. Rescued or donated food is often food that would otherwise be thrown out but is still good enough to eat.
The Zinberg Clinic serves approximately 1,000 patients with HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. Food For Free had been donating food to the Zinberg Clinic since 1991 until 2020, when food pantries were shut down during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2022, the clinic and Food For Free decided to restart their partnership, said David Novak, clinical supervisor of medical case managers at the Zinberg Clinic.
“It was Food For Free who was the backbone of everything as a subcontractor to Greater Boston Food Bank prior to this,” Novak said. “They’re now our sole source for food. We wouldn’t have it without them.”
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Hannah Nguyen can be reached at hannah.nguyen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @hannahcnguyen.