Boston Children's Hospital Every Child Fund

Boston Children’s was founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital to serve poor immigrant children. Over 157 years, it’s grown into the world’s largest pediatric research center, but our mission hasn’t changed—it’s expanded.

In addition to patients who travel from across the country and around the world for lifesaving care they can only find at Boston Children’s; we reach out to help kids in need in our local community. We turn no one away and provide resources for families struggling with recent cuts to Medicare and SNAP benefits. We serve more kids from low-income families than any other hospital in Massachusetts and have designed programs to give them a healthy start in life.

About our free family food pantry

Food is medicine, and kids in households that can’t afford or access healthy foods are at greater risk of chronic disease and poor health. That’s why Boston Children’s Hospital created programs that combat food insecurity.

Family Food Connections is a grocery store-like food pantry where families can “shop” for pantry staples, fruits, vegetables, dairy and allergy-safe foods. Last year, the pantry distributed 158,000 pounds of food monthly (70% of which was fresh produce) and served 6,743 families, some traveling from as far as Worcester. The pantry, conveniently located near our neighborhood health center, Boston Children’s at Martha Eliot in Jamaica Plain, also offers nutrition and cooking classes.

Boston Children’s also conducts research into food insecurity and childhood obesity and shares its findings to advocate for nutrition equity policies. The Wunderfull Lab, led by Allison Wu, MD, MPH, is a research initiative that addresses inequities in childhood nutrition and improves access to healthy foods at workshops where families can learn new ways prepare it together.

Thank you for helping kids

With your support, we’ll ensure more kids can eat nutritious foods and grow up healthy and strong. Thank you for giving and creating a brighter future for all.