One in nine people in eastern Massachusetts do not know where their next meal will come from. For children, that number is one in four.

The Greater Boston Food Bank’s ongoing goal is to ensure that these people are fed all throughout the year.

“GBFB has a commitment to provide healthy and nutritious food, which includes fresh produce,” said Catherine Drennan, public and government relations coordinator.

“Of our over 54-million pound distribution, 25 percent is fresh produce, and we are committed to growing that number to 35 percent in the next couple of years,” she added.

The Greater Boston Food Bank has a commitment to provide healthy and nutritious food, which includes fresh produce, to those in need in the eastern Massachusetts area.The organization works with local farmers and distributors to ensure that it has fresh produce available year-round.

“We are also fortunate enough to receive state funding from the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program, which requires us to purchase and contract through local Massachusetts Grown farmers throughout the year,” Drennan added. “Almost $8 million is invested in local farms through this program.”

In 2014, GBFB, in cooperation with Feeding America, the national network of 200 food banks, participated in the most comprehensive survey of hunger ever undertaken in eastern Massachusetts. Titled, “Hunger in America 2014,” or HIA 2014, the study provides critical data regarding the demographics of clients that receive assistance from GBFB and its network of member agencies, and it addresses the capacity the network has to address issues concerning food insecurity.

The survey showed that approximately one in 12 individuals living in eastern Massachusetts access food from GBFB and its member agencies annually.

Fresh produce, as compared to shelf stable foods, is always more challenging for food banks to obtain and distribute, but GBFB has organized ways to meet and overcome the challenges.

“Our 117,000-square-foot Yawkey Distribution Center is the largest hunger-relief facility-organization in New England,” explained Drennan. “Perishable items such as fresh fruits and vegetables are stored in GBFB’s two energy efficient walk-in coolers. When agencies come to GBFB to pick up orders they have access to our 1,360-square-foot Marketplace, which includes additional storage for short expiration-date perishables.”

GBFB’s fleet of 10 refrigerated trucks keeps food fresh and safe, door-to-door. Its warehouse includes four dry docks and two refrigerated docks.

Drennan pointed out that the organization’s new “Just in Time” produce delivery program has been piloted and is slowly expanding. 

“Agencies pick up their order of mixed produce or GBFB drops orders off at agency locations about an hour before they distribute to people in need, enabling them to give out more produce than they have the ability to store on site,” she said.

GBFB recognizes that in order to distribute more fresh produce, its member agencies need the facilities and the resources to keep pace with the increases.

“This year, over 35 of our partner agencies throughout eastern Massachusetts are benefitting from our capacity grants,” said Drennan. “These grants are designed to enable agencies to increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables available to their clients. Grantees can use the funds to improve their infrastructure which can include refrigeration, storage and transportation.”

Agencies greatly rely on GBFB to meet the ever-increasing demand.

“If agencies were no longer able to get food from GBFB, it would impact their ability to serve clients by 90 percent,” Drennan pointed out. “Even with partnership with GBFB, 22.2 percent of agencies do not feel they are getting enough food to meet the needs of their clients.”

GBFB acquires donated and purchased food from local retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, food service establishments, food drives and growers.

“We receive fresh produce from local farms for purchase through the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program and fundraised dollars,” said Drennan. “We also receive fresh fruits and vegetables through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food distribution programs and produce terminal donations.”