HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
MLCS builds community infrastructure where existing systems leave gaps. We learned the importance of this approach during the pandemic, when traditional food assistance channels could not meet the need we were seeing in East Boston. MLCS partnered with Fair Foods, with support from the City of Boston, to create another way to get fresh, affordable food to families.
What began as a response to a crisis became lasting community infrastructure. Today, MLCS is continuing the decades-long legacy of the Fair Foods Network, connecting food resources to neighborhoods and community organizations across Greater Boston. By operating this infrastructure, we see firsthand where systems fall short, test solutions in real communities, and use what we learn to improve how resources reach people.
We take this same approach across MLCS. Our food access, housing stability, education, workforce, arts and STEM, and community leadership work are different parts of the same strategy: build what is missing, strengthen the pathways people need to thrive, and use what we learn to create lasting change.
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
The programs may look different, but they work together as community infrastructure—helping families lower costs, increase income, build skills and relationships, and expand opportunity. Over time, stronger community infrastructure creates both greater economic mobility for families and greater capacity for communities to shape the systems that affect their lives.
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, MCS is embedded within three affordable housing communities while serving residents throughout East 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
2007 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. 2020 MLCS expands emergency food access during the COVID-19 pandemic and receives a Meeting the Moment grant from The Boston Foundation. The Boston Foundation 2020 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. 2024 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. 2025 MLCS distributes more than 114,000 pounds of food to residents experiencing food insecurity. 2025 MLCS responds to the SNAP crisis during the fall and receives another Meeting the Moment grant from The Boston Foundation. The Boston Foundation 2026 MLCS expands warehouse operations with 18 dedicated pallets at the Greater Boston Collaborative Food Hub. 2026 MLCS launches Grab & Go, introducing an innovative text-to-order system. Grab & Go Produce Bags 2026–2027 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. Fair Foods
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
