Wakefield Food Pantry

Wakefield Food Pantry is a nonprofit that provides food and household necessities to Wakefield residents in need. Neighbors can support it by donating, volunteering or signing up for its newsletter, and the pantry runs townwide food assessments to better understand local need. Its work also reaches beyond the pantry itself, with Little Free Pantries placed around town so that people who cannot get to the pantry still have a way to find food.

The Little Free Pantries began in summer 2023, when the pantry and the Scouts of Wakefield set up four of them around town, and they have been actively used by people who need food assistance since then. In June 2026 the pantry was one of 150 nonprofits chosen for the Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program, receiving three years of funding. Local station WCAT produced a public service announcement that gives residents a look at the pantry.

What to Know

• The Cummings Foundation grant totals $195,000 over three years.
• The Little Free Pantries follow the motto “give what you can, take what you need.”
• Its food assessments use QuestionPro’s free nonprofit survey software and templates.
• The pantry is a member of the Wakefield Lynnfield Chamber of Commerce.