Takeda & GBFB Launch Center for Community Health
Takeda and The Greater Boston Food Bank Join Forces to Advance Community Health
Our shared commitment to nutritious food and health equity takes a major step forward with the new Takeda Center.
"Health starts long before you walk into a clinic." Those words, spoken by GBFB President and CEO Catherine D’Amato, set the tone as Takeda and the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) celebrated the launch of the Takeda Center for Community Health and Nutrition. The Center was made possible through a four-year, $4 million grant from Takeda, the largest donation GBFB has ever received.
“For GBFB and Takeda, ‘food is medicine’ is not a slogan, it’s a commitment to action.”
Since 2005, Takeda has supported the GBFB in its work to strengthen communities across Eastern Massachusetts, with lifetime giving of more than $2.4 million. This includes a four-year investment in GBFB’s Mobile Markets Program, as well as employee volunteer efforts at GBFB’s warehouse. Since 2014, Takeda employees have contributed more than 800 hours of service, helping pack and sort food that has made over 110,000 meals possible. Over time, the partnership has been guided by a shared focus on the barriers people face in accessing fresh, nutritious and affordable food. In a recent report, 40% of Massachusetts households, approximately two million adults, reported food insecurity at some point over the past twelve months.1 That context has shaped the vision for the Takeda Center, building on a longstanding recognition that food affects health in profound ways. Research shows chronic conditions are often exacerbated by the stress of food insecurity and limited access to healthy foods.1
As D’Amato put it, “For GBFB and Takeda, ‘food is medicine’ is not a slogan, it’s a commitment to action.” The Center will work to expand access to nutritious and medically tailored food, strengthen partnerships between hunger-relief organizations and the healthcare system and deepen the research needed to understand and respond to rising food insecurity across the Commonwealth.
Rhonda Pacheco (left) and Catherine D’Amato (right)speaking to media following the GBFB Takeda Center announcement.
“This is the next step in our long-standing commitment to improve the lives of patients and our communities,” said Rhonda Pacheco, president of the U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head at Takeda. “We believe that innovative medicines are essential, but we also believe that people need access to the conditions that make health possible, including nutritious food, culturally appropriate meals and medically tailored nutrition.”
At the Center’s core is a focus on community. The team will operate dozens of Community Health Mobile Markets that bring fresh produce directly to children, seniors, veterans and neighborhoods most affected by food insecurity. They will support families applying for SNAP benefits, a resource that helps up to 1,000 households each year. They will also elevate data that informs statewide policy through GBFB’s annual food access study, guided by Dr. Lauren Fiechtner of Mass General Brigham, along with two full-time registered dietitians who support GBFB’s network of agency partners.
The launch also marked a moment of transition and celebration. The Center awarded $1.1 million in Community Investment Grants to 45 agency partners throughout Eastern Massachusetts, helping them expand services and reach more people with nutritious food. For D’Amato, who recently announced her pending retirement after thirty years of leadership, the new Center represents a continuation of the mission she has spent decades advancing.
Michele Fronk Schuckel (center) with GBFB members at the GBFB Takeda Center announcement.
Leading the Center is Michele Fronk Schuckel, GBFB’s inaugural vice president of Community Health and Nutrition. Drawing on her experience in public health, healthcare delivery and community partnership she reflected on how closely food access, nutrition and health are connected, and how the Center will bring together community partnerships, data and public health approaches to support meaningful and lasting change.
“Throughout my career in public health, I’ve seen how deeply food access, nutrition and health are connected, and how inequities in these systems affect people’s ability to access nutritious food and good health,” said Fronk Schuckel. “I’m honored to lead this work and to stand with communities working toward better health and food security.”
With the launch of the Center, Takeda and GBFB are stepping into a future where more families can thrive and more communities can feel supported, backed by action that treats the connection between food and health with the seriousness it deserves. “I can’t wait to see what we achieve together for families across Massachusetts,” said Pacheco.
Resources
- Citation: The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Fifth Statewide Food Access Report (2025). https://www.gbfb.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GBFB_Food-Access-Report_2025_final.pdf