COMMUNITY        

INFRASTRUCTURE

FOR EAST BOSTON

AND BEYOND           

MLCS builds the community infrastructure that helps families lower expenses, increase income, expand opportunity, and build the relationships that make lasting economic mobility possible.

Our Mission

We’re building an equitable community by uplifting and supporting families, promoting community health, and nurturing resident and youth leadership and creativity.

AFFORDABLE
FOOD
HOUSING
STABILITY
EDUCATION
HEALTH &
WELLNESS
EMPLOYMENT &
OPPORTUNITY
STRONGER FAMILIES. STRONGER NEIGHBORHOODS.

Why MLCS Exists

Families don't experience challenges one at a time. Housing affects health. Food affects education. Employment affects stability.

MLCS brings these services together under one roof so people spend less time navigating systems and more time building their future.

Unlike organizations that operate from a single office, MLCS is embedded within three affordable housing communities while serving residents throughout Greater Boston-making support accessible where people live.

We Don't Just Run Programs.

We Build Community Infrastructure.

Our work is interconnected. When one part of life improves, everything gets stronger. MLCS creates the systems and relationships that help our neighborhoods thrive-today and for generations to come.

How We Help

  • Housing
    Stability

    Keeping families housed and communities strong through housing support and stabilization.

  • Food
    Access

    Rescuing and distributing healthy food through our networks and Grab & Go Food Hub.

  • Education

    Supporting adults and youth with learning opportunities that open doors.

  • Employment &
    Workforce

    Building skills and connecting residents to jobs and career pathways.

  • Health &
    Wellness

    Connecting residents to care, resources, and wellness programs that heal and empower.

  • Arts &
    Community

    Fostering creativity, connection, and cultural pride through arts and community spaces.

Housing Stability Keeping families housed and communities strong through housing support and stabilization.

Food Access Rescuing and distributing health food though our networks and Grab & Gp Food Hub.

Education Supporting adult and youth with learning opportunities that open doors.

Employment & workforce Building skills and connecting residents to jobs and career pathways.

Health & Wellness Connecting residents to care, resources and wellness programs that heal and empower

Health & Wellness Connecting residents to care, resources and wellness programs that lead and empower.

Arts & Community Fostering creativity, connection and cultural pride through arts and community spaces

Our 2025

Our Food Program Timeline

  1. 2007

    Historic East Boston building

    Following the redevelopment of Maverick Gardens into the mixed-income Maverick Landing community by Trinity Financial, the East Boston Community Development Corporation, and the Boston Housing Authority, MLCS is founded to create a new model of place-based community support. The organization becomes a trusted walk-in community center serving East Boston individuals and families.

  2. 2020

    Volunteer handing out fresh vegetables

    MLCS expands emergency food access during the COVID-19 pandemic and receives a Meeting the Moment grant from The Boston Foundation.

  3. 2020

    MLCS team and partners at a food distribution

    MLCS receives the City of Boston Community Champion Award for its partnership with the Office of Food Justice and the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement to expand food access through immigrant-serving community organizations.

  4. 2024

    Youth volunteers serving meals

    MLCS leads a youth-supported mutual aid response, providing daily dinners for six months to humanitarian parolees temporarily housed at Boston Logan Airport’s Terminal E.

  5. 2025

    Volunteers packing produce

    MLCS distributes more than 114,000 pounds of food to residents experiencing food insecurity.

  6. 2025

    Resident choosing fresh produce

    MLCS responds to the SNAP crisis during the fall and receives another Meeting the Moment grant from The Boston Foundation.

  7. 2026

    Warehouse worker with a pallet jack

    MLCS expands warehouse operations with 18 dedicated pallets at the Greater Boston Collaborative Food Hub.

  8. 2026

    Volunteer holding a produce bag

    MLCS launches Grab & Go, introducing an innovative text-to-order

  9. 2026-2027

    Two community members standing togetherFair Foods

    MLCS is launching a new stewardship model that reduces wait times, expands access, builds on Fair Foods’ 38-year legacy, and preserves an iconic community network for affordable fresh produce while modernizing its distribution model to better support residents into the future.