Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House

The Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House is a human services agency in Cambridge that has served one of the city’s most diverse communities for more than 100 years. Its supermarket-style food pantry provides nutritious groceries to more than 4,000 individuals and families each year, letting patrons choose foods that fit their preferences and cultural needs up to three times a month. A community engagement program offers one-on-one help with housing and employment.

The house on Cherry Street was built in 1807 as the childhood home of Margaret Fuller, the author, feminist and Transcendentalist, and became one of the first settlement houses in the United States in 1902. In the early 1970s the Black Panthers ran a free breakfast and education program there, and Fanny Greene led the High Steppers drill team for neighborhood youth. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984.

What to Know

• Workshops cover technology skills and financial literacy.
• The agency accepts donations of food and new clothing.
• Individuals and groups can volunteer.
• Its board of directors includes leaders from Cambridge Public Schools, the Cambridge Police Department and the Cambridge Jazz Festival.