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Volunteers expecting more people at community fridges around Greater Boston this holiday season

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Volunteers expecting more people at community fridges around Greater Boston this holiday season


Local volunteers and organizers of community fridges across the Greater Boston area are expecting an uptick in need this holiday season.

Community fridges began popping up in and around Boston during the pandemic as a way to address food insecurity. Many are still in operation today, continuing to provide food to those in need. Those who run the fridges are expecting even more people to stop by in the coming weeks.

Nancy Dutton, an organizer with Watertown’s community fridge, said during this time of year, they aim to get extra funding to stock the fridge more frequently, and supply baking items such as butter, oils and pie crust. She said those items go very quickly.

“It’s a time when people give more, so we reach out more, and then we can put more food in,” Dutton said, adding that non-food items such as diapers and personal care items are of great need as well.

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Jenna Firshein of Watertown said she regularly donates to and takes from the Watertown community fridge. She dropped off a few items on Monday.

“I think it’s a great way for people not to feel burdened to ask for help … It just allows people to feel like they’re shopping without having to ask for something, which is hard to do,” Firshein said.

“It just allows people to feel like they’re shopping.”

Jenna Firshein of Watertown

Isabel Campbell-Gross, an organizer with Fridge In The Square on Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge, also said it’s likely more people will stop by the fridge during the holiday season, when budgets run tight.

Campbell-Gross said donating to the fridge is “a great way to show your support and show community in a very visible, visceral way.”

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Community fridges operate on different models, some relying on donations and others using grant money or partnerships with local restaurants to keep food stocked.

Aliza Arzt helps take care of three community fridges in Somerville. Every week, those fridges move 500-1,000 pounds of food that comes in from a number of sources, including farmers markets.

Jack Porter said he stops by the Newton community fridge on Watertown Street nearly every day to pick up items or drop some off.

“It does help, that extra little food. I know a lot of people are ashamed to take food,” Porter told GBH News, adding that the fridge runs out very quickly.

On Monday, the Allston/Brighton community fridge was completely empty, and a volunteer told GBH News that’s simply because the turnover rate is so high. The fridge fills up, then empties out very quickly.

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Community fridges are run by volunteers in each city or town. A spokeswoman for the city of Boston said the city doesn’t regulate the fridges or keep a database of where they’re located. Eater Boston does maintain a map of locations. Updates about community fridges are frequently posted on social media by volunteers.






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Boston, MA

President Biden’s visit to Boston next week features a concert fundraiser with James Taylor

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President Biden’s visit to Boston next week features a concert fundraiser with James Taylor


BOSTON — After spending Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, President Joe Biden is planning a return to the state for a presidential campaign fundraiser in Boston.

Singer-songwriter James Taylor is featured as the “special guest.” The event is scheduled for December 5th in “downtown Boston” but the exact location and time of the “evening concert” has not been revealed.

A invitation from the MassDems bills the event as the “You’ve Got a Friend in Joe” fundraiser.

Tickets start at $50 for balcony and rear mezzanine, to $7.500 for the center front orchestra. Those most expensive tickets also include one VIP photo.

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The money will go to the Biden Victory Fund.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Boston, MA

Single-bedroom apartment in Boston more expensive than San Francisco, Zumper says

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Single-bedroom apartment in Boston more expensive than San Francisco, Zumper says


It now costs more to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Boston than it does in San Francisco, California, according to Zumper.

The property rental site said the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Boston is $2,990 in its National Rent Report that was published on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Boston edged out the median price in San Fransisco, $2,970, to move up to the third spot on the list.

  • Read More: What you need to know about the MBTA Green, Orange Line closures

Jersey City, New Jersey was second at $3,090 while New York City took the top spot at a median price of $4,300.

Miami, Florida ($2,600), San Jose, California, ($2,480), San Diego, California ($2,400), Los Angeles ($2,380), Washington D.C. ($2,330) and Arlington, Virginia ($2,270) rounded out the top 10.

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  • Read More: These Boston tourist traps are actually worth going to, Eater Boston says

Zumper said the current national median rent for a one-bedroom home is $1,499 a month. It also is cheaper to rent than to own a house, the site added.

Of the 100 cities included on the list, 60 have one-bedroom median rents lower than last month, 11 were flat month-over-month, and 29 were up. You can check out the full list by clicking here.



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Meehan sisters strengthen bond through UNC field hockey

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Meehan sisters strengthen bond through UNC field hockey


Every year, the Massachusetts State Field Hockey Coaches Association follows up the day of state championships with the Best of 60 Senior All-Star Games; awarding one final hoorah to the state’s top graduating players.

But this year, one of the very best couldn’t make it.

A different field hockey tradition unfolded the same weekend down in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Bishop Feehan North Carolina-commit Ava Meehan was absorbing it all in.

“I didn’t want to miss (the Best of 60), but … ” Ava said, before her mother, Kim Meehan, interrupted. “She was planning on flying home, but then UNC won the semifinal game.”

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The same day of the all-star games on Nov. 19, the Tar Heels thrillingly outlasted Northwestern to win their 11th NCAA Div. I national championship. Ava, alongside the other commits to the program, was at Karen Shelton Stadium to celebrate with future teammates she’s excited to play with – none of whom she’s ever played with before.

Most of them are from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, or overseas. But one grew up in the same house.

Former King Philip star Alli Meehan, who graduated before Ava was a freshman in high school, won her second national championship with the Tar Heels as part of a special weekend. Being a part of the most decorated Div. I collegiate program, that’s won twice with her on the team, is an unearthly feeling.

With one more year of eligibility left, though, perhaps the only thing that could trump it is going for a three-peat with her younger sister.

“Not many people can even say they won one national championship, and the fact that I’ve won two, back-to-back – it’s crazy and (it) still hasn’t really set in yet,” Alli said. “The fact that we get to have a season together is crazy. … Just as an older sister, seeing (Ava’s) growth over the last four years, I’m so excited to get her here.”

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“We’ve never been able to overlap,” Ava added. “We do everything together. I just can’t wait to play with my best friend.”

Through their second national championship run together, Alli and former Groton School standout Cassidy Thibodeau often joked with each other about the grit they bring to the Tar Heels. They are the only two players from Massachusetts to play for UNC in the last decade, a perennial contender with five national titles in that span. Only four other players from Massachusetts have won Div. I national championships since 2013, so they very much represent the state well.

Ava’s commitment will make it three players from here to join UNC’s ranks over 11 years. But funny enough, neither Meehan sister was originally headed to Chapel Hill.

After a stellar freshman season at Northeastern in 2019, COVID changed Alli’s perspective on where she wanted to be. The Patriot Field Hockey club Kim co-founded – motivated by giving her daughters a special place to train – instilled in Alli early on to always strive for excellence. That meant entering the transfer portal and sending emails to “a bajillion” Div. 1 programs. Every program, except UNC.

She thought joining the Tar Heels, coming off three straight titles, was a long shot. But the night before she was about to commit to Boston College, Kim told her she might as well reach out. So she did. And sure enough, shortly before hopping on the call, Alli got a different one from legendary UNC coach Karen Shelton.

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“Me, never having been down south to UNC, committed right then and there over the phone because how can you pass up that opportunity,” Alli said. “It was just me and Ava at home, so I started screaming, ‘Ava! You’re not going to believe this!’ … Ever since I stepped foot on campus here, never have I ever once questioned that I’m at the right place.”

The same goes for Ava, which presented quite an internal struggle.

Visiting Alli down at UNC was always an unbelievable experience. The championship culture, the family environment, everyone’s connection to the Carolina blue – Ava was captivated by all of it. But as a Penn State commit, she was conflicted.

“Going down to watch my sister play in her games, the tailgates with the family after – I (kept saying), ‘I’m going to Penn State. I’m going to Penn State.’ But then I’d go down to UNC, and everybody would just act like a family. I was like, ‘This is where I want to be.’”

When longtime Penn State coach Char Morett-Curtiss retired, that was Ava’s opening to reevaluate and eventually de-commit. She reached out to UNC’s new head coach Erin Matson – who just became the youngest head coach of an NCAA national championship team at 23 – and met with her in February during another trip to see Alli.

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Not too long after, it was Ava’s turn to get the call.

“I was crying, my sister was right there,” Ava said. “We were both in tears, we just couldn’t believe it. It’s amazing. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I just can’t wait.”

“They (now) both have Carolina blue bed comforters,” Kim added. “I do believe in destiny. I believe in all of that. I just feel like the cards keep leading us to Carolina.”

One of the very reasons Alli wanted a place like UNC is because of her desire and passion to be exceptional. She wants to represent the state well and make everyone that’s helped her along the way proud.

Being surrounded by the same ambition is a dream come true, and is an environment she adds to.

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“She is hungry to learn, and she is constantly pushing her teammates,” Erin Matson said. “She is one of the hardest workers I know.”

Now, the person that brings out perhaps the most competitiveness out of her is about to be a teammate for the first time. Ava has already said she’s coming for Alli’s beep test record.

Finally, the two have a chance to show off what they can do together on the same team.

“The Meehan combination is something the world has not seen yet,” Alli said. “The driveway has seen it, but not the world.”



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