Public Benefits and Community Assistance

Our guide is a great way to learn about and connect to free and low-cost foods in Cambridge.

We are distributing free bags of fresh vegetables, bread, and other food items every Saturday morning.

We help people apply for and resolve problems with Social Security, SSI, SSDI, TAFDC, and EAEDC.

Since 1999, we've been offering community meals that are open to all (twice per month from September to June).

We operate a community supper each Thursday evening at Christ Church Cambridge.

We distribute free, prepared to-go meals twice each month on the second and last Tuesday evenings.

Our team of social workers can help make referrals to community services, help you complete applications, navigate resources, and help connect you to mental health or substance misuse programs.

The Winter Warming Center is a welcoming and safe drop-in center where unsheltered adults can spend the night and be safe from the environmental hazards of the street during the winter months.

SCES and Cambridge Senior Centers offering lunches Monday through Thursday.

Our Food Pantry offers fresh vegetables, fruits, cereals, canned goods, eggs and frozen meats for Cambridge families and individuals who need support.

We offer fun, informative, and friendly activities for older adults. You can exercise, play games, learn a new skill, speak a new language, and build new relationships! See our monthly calendar for more.

When people come in we can help them use their digital devices (smartphones, tablets, computers), apply for services online, learn digital literacy and safety/privacy tips, and get access to devices.

We extend access to technology like Chromebook laptops and mobile WiFi hotspots by allowing patrons to check out devices.

We offer case management and counseling services for Cambridge residents over the age of 60 and their caregivers.

Council on Aging offers a wide range of social services and is committed to meeting the needs of seniors. We can connect people to services or even meet them where they live to help them connect.

On The Rise is a daytime, drop-in program for unhoused women, trans, and non-binary people providing the relationships, safety and resources they need to move out of homelessness.

We can help you with applying for health insurance like MassHealth, Health Connector plans, Health Safety Net, Medicare and dental plans through the Massachusetts Health Connector.

We offer help in applying for SNAP/Food Stamps or completing annual recertifications and interim reports. We can also help you resolve problems that may lead to loss or reduction of benefits.

Our aging information and service center makes referrals to elder services and disability services, either through those individuals directly or through a caretaker.

Qualifying individuals can apply to receive affordable internet access and a new laptop.

This guide is an overview of some of the organizations that serve to support LGBTQ+ older adults. There are local organizations, national organizations, and other information.

As part of our program, we hand out various combinations of sandwiches or bagged lunches, juice boxes, snacks, socks, some seasonal items, toiletry kits, and more to the community.

Restaurant prepared hot meals served primarily to unhoused persons.

Our program offers meals to homeless and the community.

Project Manna Epic Program operates a food pantry to provide assistance, aimed at increasing the nutritional competency of needy families in our community.

We offer a monthly delivery of library materials to Cambridge residents who are unable to visit a library due to short- or long-term disability or infirmity.

The Cambridge Public Library offers free computer classes, book groups, English classes, makerspace workshops, and lots more upcoming opportunities to learn.