Converted Storage Room Brings Fresh Groceries to Drake Village
Arlington, MA · November 11, 2026
Take note before tackling mid-week errands: municipal offices and public libraries are closed today for Veterans Day, though your curbside bins still get emptied on schedule.
The Lead
Six months after transforming a 350-square-foot storage room into a free grocery pantry, the Drake Village Mini Market is already reaching more than half the residents in the town's largest senior public housing development.
The initiative, launched as a pilot by Arlington EATS and the Arlington Housing Authority, was designed to solve a persistent geographic hurdle: Drake Village's 216 low-income seniors and disabled residents live farther from the main community market than almost any other housing complex in town. Rather than relying solely on monthly delivery boxes, neighbors now take the elevator down every Thursday afternoon to select their own fresh produce, dairy, and proteins.
To measure how direct access shifts resident wellbeing, Tufts University researchers are actively tracking nutrition and health surveys through the ongoing Cook and Thrive study.
Local Pulse
Crews Work to Clear Fall Yard Waste City Hall Residents waiting on delayed yard waste collection should leave uncollected paper bags and barrels at the curb today.
Town Gathers Input on Park Redesign Options Parks Residents can submit feedback on upcoming playground and pathway improvements for Cutter and Reinhart parks through an online survey.
Today's Outlook
- High 55°F · Low 41°F — Overcast
- A standard fall jacket will keep you plenty comfortable under gray skies today.
What's On Around Town
Today
Boston Skyline Chorus Fundraiser Donut Villa (319 Broadway), 9:00 AM Grab breakfast or lunch to help support local women's barbershop singing.
Veterans Day Remembrance Ceremony Milk Row Cemetery (439 Somerville Ave), Somerville, 2:30–3:00 PM · Free Civic observance at the Civil War monument with historic volunteer regiments.
Jason Carter Band Club Passim (47 Palmer St), Cambridge, 8:00 PM · $35 Acclaimed bluegrass fiddle master performs an intimate acoustic club set.
Tomorrow
- YourArlington 20th Anniversary Celebration Donut Villa (319 Broadway), 7:00–9:30 PM · Paid
- Rev. Robert B. Jones, Sr. & Matt Watroba Club Passim (47 Palmer St), Cambridge, 7:00 PM · $33
- Sleep The Sinclair (52 Church St), Cambridge, 8:00 PM
Friday
- Arlington Greek Cuisine Fall Fest Saint Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church (4 Appleton St), 11:30 AM · Free
- Fall Play: "Almost, Maine" Winchester High School (80 Skillings Rd), Winchester, 7:00 PM
- Lisa Bastoni with Sean Staples Ripley Presents (21 Church St), Winchester, 7:30 PM
Spotlight & Story
- Arlington Coal & Lumber Company Operating out of an 1875 Gothic Revival landmark on Park Avenue, this fourth-generation family business has supplied local builders since 1923. Long after trading coal wagons for modern delivery trucks, the yard still cuts framing timber to order right on site.
Arlington Daily Digest — compiled from local sources every morning. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
Sent with care by MailerDot — your city, every morning.