Coronavirus Coverage

In Waltham, A Once Monthly Food Pantry Is Now A Weekly Event — With Lines Around The Block

05:52

Updated May 22, 2020

As job losses soar, so does the number of people unable to afford basic groceries. Around the country, lines of cars and people now wait hours for food assistance — a phenomenon usually associated with the Great Depression.

But food insecurity in the United States — and Massachusetts — existed well before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. By some estimates, 9% of people in the commonwealth faced food insecurity before COVID-19.

Now, as more than a million people — roughly a quarter of the state’s workforce -- have lost their jobs, demand on food pantries has sky-rocketed.

The line for food extends out of the parking lot and down Pond Street at a food pantry at St. Mary Parish in Waltham. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A woman picks up a prepared bag of food supplies. Hundreds of people and families lined up on foot and in their vehicles at St. Mary Parish in Waltham on a recent Thursday to receive food assistance. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Prepared grocery bags at a food pantry at St. Mary Parish in Waltham. People seeking food assistance lined up on foot and in their vehicles for hours. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

To learn more, WBUR's Bob Oakes took a virtual tour of one the 500 or so food pantries in Eastern Massachusetts. The Watch City Market used to be a once-a-month event, held in the parking lot of St. Mary's Church in Waltham.

Now the food giveaway happens weekly — and the event's organizers say the increased demand stretches the limits of what they're able to provide.

Listen to the story atop the post or see more photos here:

Cars waiting in line for food assistance. On that day, nearly 3,000 bags of groceries were passed out to families in need. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A volunteer places bags of groceries into the back of a minivan. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

This article was originally published on May 22, 2020.

This segment aired on May 22, 2020.

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