Our Programs
We provide food, clothing, shelter, community resources and advocacy to support individuals and families facing the challenges of homelessness and food insecurity. Each program offers stability and a path towards self-sufficiency.
Donate Food
Lazarus House Ministries provides more than 18,000 pounds of supplemental groceries each week, distributed to weekly in just five hours to over 1,800 Guests who visit our food pantry. Our soup kitchen serves 250 meals for breakfast and lunch seven days a week.
Events
Our signature events bring people together to support the mission and celebrate the impact we create throughout the Merrimack Valley. Join us to make a meaningful difference for individuals and families working towards a brighter future.
The Impact We Make Together
The people we serve are our Guests: cherished, beloved, and treated with the utmost in dignity and respect. We believe that every Guest deserves the chance to thrive.
Our Community
We operate in the gateway city of Lawrence, where almost 90,000 people live in less than seven square miles. In 2025, 40% of households in this region faced food insecurity and 45% of Lawrencians received SNAP benefits. Additionally, with rapidly rising rents, these community members earning an average of $49,000 a year can no longer afford a typical apartment.
By the Numbers
In 2025, dozens of individuals and families were provided temporary shelter and longer-term transitional housing, 13 seasonal emergency response nights were held due to extreme weather conditions, more than 70,000 meals were served in the soup kitchen, and nearly 85,000 supplemental groceries bags were distributed at the food pantry.
Our supporters
Because of the abundant generosity of our individual donors, partners, volunteers, foundations, schools and faith organizations, Lazarus House can meet each individual who walks through our doors exactly where they are, and with dignity and respect.
News
MA food banks preparing to help feed families as SNAP benefits set to expire amid government shutdown
With 42 million Americans on the verge of losing their food stamps, several Massachusetts cities are stepping in to help.
“I Can’t Look Back.” – Cristalis’ Story
Premiered at the 2025 Sharing Our Bounty Gala. Cristalis, a Lazarus House Guest, shares her story of courage and perseverance.
Lazarus House Ministries Responds to SNAP Cuts
In a state as wealthy as Massachusetts, no one should go hungry. Yet even here in the Merrimack Valley, 1 in 3 residents reported experiencing food insecurity last year. For decades, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has helped close that gap. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income individuals and families, with the goal of supplementing their grocery budgets with nutritious food. SNAP delivers $240 million in food assistance statewide each month with over 1 million people in Massachusetts relying on SNAP including 430,000 children. In Lawrence, where we work, 42% of the population receive SNAP benefits.
