November 22, 2025 • 9 mins
A little bit of spice or seasoning can turn a humdrum meal into something nutritious, tasty, and filling. With Massachusetts in the throes of a food insecurity crisis, people who find themselves needing to utilize food banks and pantries may not always be able to access the spices and seasonings that help them connect to their culture and feel the dignity they deserve by cooking a complete meal. The Boston Public Library's Spice Bank is working to supplement pantries with these seasonings, but they need your help to do it. Allie Hahn, Children's Librarian at the BPL Brighton Center branch, joins Nichole to talk about the importance of the project and how you can help.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England
Weekend where each and every week right here we come
together we talk about all the topics important to you
and the place where you live. Thanks again for tuning
in this week. I'm Nicole Davis. You may not like
your food overly spicy. I know I don't, but a
little bit of seasoning at least can transform what was
a boring meal into something both nutritious and tasty. If
(00:31):
you listen to the show frequently, you know we talk
often about food insecurity and its prevalence in Massachusetts. But
when people are able to get a hold of much
needed food through food banks or pantries, usually spices and
seasonings are not part of that deal. The Boston Public
Library says it's doing its part to change that. Library
officials are now asking for your help to pull together
(00:52):
spices and seasonings for local families. And here to tell
us all about this, we have Ali Hahn on the show.
She is the children's librarian at the Branch and Brighton Center.
It is good to have you here, Ali, and I've
got to know the library is usually big on books.
Why is the BPL getting involved in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Spices so we are talking about spices at the library
because libraries are in a lot of ways community hubs.
They are places that people gather and they are a
place that people think of when they think of community
and helping and connecting with each other. And so we
thought it was a great place to kind of expand
(01:29):
on what we do. And a lot of folks in
the library are always looking for ways to do more
or to donate and get involved in their community, and
we're a great way to connect people with that. And
so the Spice Bank allows for us to not only
help people and provide folks and food pantries and community
(01:50):
members with spices which are sometimes out of reach due
to cost or availability to folks. We help connect them
with those spices and give them to our local food
banks and food pantries so that people can stay culturally
connected to spices, eat yummy, delicious food. And it's a
great way to also connect people and have them feel
(02:10):
like they're doing something really directly that helps the community
they already live in.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, you think about food banks and food pantries that
right now, frankly are doing Yemen's work. They are incredible institutions. Yeah,
but spices are not really something you think about when
you go to the food pantry. So this has got
to be a really big help for the Greater Boston
Food Bank and all the other food pantries you work with.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, we often think about when we're donating food to
food pantries or food banks. We think about canned goods
and things with a long shelf life, and we think
about those boxed mac and cheeses, and there are things
that we don't always necessarily think about access to. Right,
so even for that box mac and cheese, like, does
somebody have access to milk or a dairy alternative to
(02:54):
like be making that mac and cheese? And then so
an extension of that is do people have access to
this vices that they need to not just eat, but
eat well and eat in a way that is fulfilling
to them both in nutritional sense but also in a
cultural sense and a way of like enjoying food. Food
(03:14):
is such a big way that we connect with each
other and connect to our culture and to our family traditions,
and so having those spices available means that someone gets
to go home and have that experience and connect more
with the food that they're eating. It isn't just eating
so that we can keep going. It's eating because there
(03:34):
is a joy in sharing meal together and eating something
that reminds you of your family or something about yourself.
And so spices are kind of an extension of we
don't want people to just eat to eat, We want
them to eat to enjoy. And I think that that's
a big part of like BPL's overall mission is that
(03:56):
you know, a library is traditionally like a room full
of books, right that you can take home, And that's fantastic,
that's already addressing a need in the community, and that's great,
but we always see that as a way of like
how else can we connect? And it's not just oh,
I'm taking this book home, but it's like, how do
I feel connected to my library? And how do I
(04:17):
feel connected to my community? And so for me advocating
for the Spice Bank, it feels like a very natural
connection to be like, how do we help people connect
to their culture, to their identity to other people through food?
And a lot of the answer to that is the
spices we use for making that food.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
It's dignity as well, because if you find yourself in
a space where you do need to reach out to
the food bank, or you do need a food pantry,
which a lot of people in the city of Boston
are right now. It is not a failing by any means.
But you deserve the dignity to eat your food as
you choose to eat it.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yes, And I think that also kind of like goes
hand in hand with what we try to do at
the library with connecting people to resource, is that we
our goal is to always be able to answer your
question in a judgment free way. There is no shame
in the questions that people bring to us. You should
never feel embarrassed to bring those questions to us. And
(05:14):
so in that same vein kind of like we have
been providing folks with information about food resources for many years,
I think especially now, it was more important than ever
that we have that available and we did. But we
do like to think about like I don't want to
necessarily go like spiritually fulfilling, but like what nourishes you
outside of just like the basic things you need to
(05:37):
keep your body going, how do you feel nourished? And
spices play such a big role in that they can
totally change a meal and they can really elevate a
meal as well, and you know, it's a great way
to remind people that like things are delicious and good
and maybe a bright spot when you know, maybe food
(05:58):
access is something that feels very stressful. To be able
to go home and have or have a meal that
is reflective of your experience or that just tastes so
good is a break from that. It is a break
from having to think about all the time where your
next meal is coming from nourishing in a different way,
I think, while still also helping to connect people to
(06:20):
the things they need to nourish themselves with in order
to continue on.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
So if people want to donate and they want to assist,
I am assuming the Spice Bank. It's not like that
seed bank in small bart or whatever, where it's just
a giant building where you show up with a bunch
of coriander. It's a little less intensive than that. Where
can people donate and what should they bring?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, So there are quite a few branches across the
city that are accepting donations. The Adams Street Branch, the
Brighton Branch where I am, the Central Library in Copley Square,
Charlestown Branch, Fanual Branch, Jamaica Plane Lower Mills, North End,
Roslindale and South Boston. And all you do is you
(07:02):
can bring in an unopened spice or dried herb that's
been packaged. You can bring it in. There are little
boxes available. It'll depend on the location to where to
find it, but it should be somewhere near the front
desk where any staff member can help you out and
you just drop it in the box. You can speak
with staff or you can just do so and like
leave on your regular book pickup. And when we collect
(07:24):
a certain amount of spices or the box gets full,
we connect with the organization that we donate to. So
in Brighton we work very closely in partnership with the
food pantry over at the Congregational Church, and so that's
an option for us to be able to donate to
their food pantry or a local community fridge or a
local food pantry. We really try to get the spices
(07:48):
into the communities they're donated in. So we're all connected
to different food banks and different food access providers through
the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Phenomenal and how long is this going on? For just
a few weeks or longer than that?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So it started November first, so we're right at the
beginning and it's going to run all the way until
April April fifteenth, which is one Boston Day or you know,
the marathon anniversary, or if you want to get really specific,
it's you know, tax Day. But up until April fifteenth,
we are accepting those spices and really encouraging folks to
(08:24):
just bring something out of your cabinet or pick something
up a little extra at the store and drop it
off at your local library and we'll take care of
the rest.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, And it's important to note here no bringing half
a thing of salt or no use spices.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Please do not. Yeah, no used spices. And as much
as I would love to have some basil from somebody's garden,
we do ask that it is professionally prepared, so it
comes packaged and it's followed all food safety standards. And
that's all. The spices that you donate to us are
new and unopened.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
All right, phenomenal. Well, where can people find out more
about what's happening, not just with the Spice Bank, but
also everything going on at the BPL.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah, so our website is a great place to find
out about that. BPL dot org. We also have a
great instagram that keeps you in the loop about everything.
It's BPL Boston and then each of the local branches
typically has their own instagram as well, so folks should
look BPL and then their branch name to stay in
the loop about their most local library events as well.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, Alie, this is great info. Thank you so much
for all you do for the Spice Bank.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Awesome. Thank you, Nicole, and thanks for highlighting it. It's
a really cool thing and I'm glad that we're getting
the word out some more folks.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England
Weekend where each and every week right here we come
together we talk about all the topics important to you
and the place where you live. Thanks again for tuning
in this week. I'm Nicole Davis. You may not like
your food overly spicy. I know I don't, but a
little bit of seasoning at least can transform what was
a boring meal into something both nutritious and tasty. If
(00:31):
you listen to the show frequently, you know we talk
often about food insecurity and its prevalence in Massachusetts. But
when people are able to get a hold of much
needed food through food banks or pantries, usually spices and
seasonings are not part of that deal. The Boston Public
Library says it's doing its part to change that. Library
officials are now asking for your help to pull together
(00:52):
spices and seasonings for local families. And here to tell
us all about this, we have Ali Hahn on the show.
She is the children's librarian at the Branch and Brighton Center.
It is good to have you here, Ali, and I've
got to know the library is usually big on books.
Why is the BPL getting involved in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Spices so we are talking about spices at the library
because libraries are in a lot of ways community hubs.
They are places that people gather and they are a
place that people think of when they think of community
and helping and connecting with each other. And so we
thought it was a great place to kind of expand
(01:29):
on what we do. And a lot of folks in
the library are always looking for ways to do more
or to donate and get involved in their community, and
we're a great way to connect people with that. And
so the Spice Bank allows for us to not only
help people and provide folks and food pantries and community
(01:50):
members with spices which are sometimes out of reach due
to cost or availability to folks. We help connect them
with those spices and give them to our local food
banks and food pantries so that people can stay culturally
connected to spices, eat yummy, delicious food. And it's a
great way to also connect people and have them feel
(02:10):
like they're doing something really directly that helps the community
they already live in.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, you think about food banks and food pantries that
right now, frankly are doing Yemen's work. They are incredible institutions. Yeah,
but spices are not really something you think about when
you go to the food pantry. So this has got
to be a really big help for the Greater Boston
Food Bank and all the other food pantries you work with.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, we often think about when we're donating food to
food pantries or food banks. We think about canned goods
and things with a long shelf life, and we think
about those boxed mac and cheeses, and there are things
that we don't always necessarily think about access to. Right,
so even for that box mac and cheese, like, does
somebody have access to milk or a dairy alternative to
(02:54):
like be making that mac and cheese? And then so
an extension of that is do people have access to
this vices that they need to not just eat, but
eat well and eat in a way that is fulfilling
to them both in nutritional sense but also in a
cultural sense and a way of like enjoying food. Food
(03:14):
is such a big way that we connect with each
other and connect to our culture and to our family traditions,
and so having those spices available means that someone gets
to go home and have that experience and connect more
with the food that they're eating. It isn't just eating
so that we can keep going. It's eating because there
(03:34):
is a joy in sharing meal together and eating something
that reminds you of your family or something about yourself.
And so spices are kind of an extension of we
don't want people to just eat to eat, We want
them to eat to enjoy. And I think that that's
a big part of like BPL's overall mission is that
(03:56):
you know, a library is traditionally like a room full
of books, right that you can take home, And that's fantastic,
that's already addressing a need in the community, and that's great,
but we always see that as a way of like
how else can we connect? And it's not just oh,
I'm taking this book home, but it's like, how do
I feel connected to my library? And how do I
(04:17):
feel connected to my community? And so for me advocating
for the Spice Bank, it feels like a very natural
connection to be like, how do we help people connect
to their culture, to their identity to other people through food?
And a lot of the answer to that is the
spices we use for making that food.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
It's dignity as well, because if you find yourself in
a space where you do need to reach out to
the food bank, or you do need a food pantry,
which a lot of people in the city of Boston
are right now. It is not a failing by any means.
But you deserve the dignity to eat your food as
you choose to eat it.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yes, And I think that also kind of like goes
hand in hand with what we try to do at
the library with connecting people to resource, is that we
our goal is to always be able to answer your
question in a judgment free way. There is no shame
in the questions that people bring to us. You should
never feel embarrassed to bring those questions to us. And
(05:14):
so in that same vein kind of like we have
been providing folks with information about food resources for many years,
I think especially now, it was more important than ever
that we have that available and we did. But we
do like to think about like I don't want to
necessarily go like spiritually fulfilling, but like what nourishes you
outside of just like the basic things you need to
(05:37):
keep your body going, how do you feel nourished? And
spices play such a big role in that they can
totally change a meal and they can really elevate a
meal as well, and you know, it's a great way
to remind people that like things are delicious and good
and maybe a bright spot when you know, maybe food
(05:58):
access is something that feels very stressful. To be able
to go home and have or have a meal that
is reflective of your experience or that just tastes so
good is a break from that. It is a break
from having to think about all the time where your
next meal is coming from nourishing in a different way,
I think, while still also helping to connect people to
(06:20):
the things they need to nourish themselves with in order
to continue on.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
So if people want to donate and they want to assist,
I am assuming the Spice Bank. It's not like that
seed bank in small bart or whatever, where it's just
a giant building where you show up with a bunch
of coriander. It's a little less intensive than that. Where
can people donate and what should they bring?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, So there are quite a few branches across the
city that are accepting donations. The Adams Street Branch, the
Brighton Branch where I am, the Central Library in Copley Square,
Charlestown Branch, Fanual Branch, Jamaica Plane Lower Mills, North End,
Roslindale and South Boston. And all you do is you
(07:02):
can bring in an unopened spice or dried herb that's
been packaged. You can bring it in. There are little
boxes available. It'll depend on the location to where to
find it, but it should be somewhere near the front
desk where any staff member can help you out and
you just drop it in the box. You can speak
with staff or you can just do so and like
leave on your regular book pickup. And when we collect
(07:24):
a certain amount of spices or the box gets full,
we connect with the organization that we donate to. So
in Brighton we work very closely in partnership with the
food pantry over at the Congregational Church, and so that's
an option for us to be able to donate to
their food pantry or a local community fridge or a
local food pantry. We really try to get the spices
(07:48):
into the communities they're donated in. So we're all connected
to different food banks and different food access providers through
the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Phenomenal and how long is this going on? For just
a few weeks or longer than that?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So it started November first, so we're right at the
beginning and it's going to run all the way until
April April fifteenth, which is one Boston Day or you know,
the marathon anniversary, or if you want to get really specific,
it's you know, tax Day. But up until April fifteenth,
we are accepting those spices and really encouraging folks to
(08:24):
just bring something out of your cabinet or pick something
up a little extra at the store and drop it
off at your local library and we'll take care of
the rest.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, And it's important to note here no bringing half
a thing of salt or no use spices.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Please do not. Yeah, no used spices. And as much
as I would love to have some basil from somebody's garden,
we do ask that it is professionally prepared, so it
comes packaged and it's followed all food safety standards. And
that's all. The spices that you donate to us are
new and unopened.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
All right, phenomenal. Well, where can people find out more
about what's happening, not just with the Spice Bank, but
also everything going on at the BPL.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah, so our website is a great place to find
out about that. BPL dot org. We also have a
great instagram that keeps you in the loop about everything.
It's BPL Boston and then each of the local branches
typically has their own instagram as well, so folks should
look BPL and then their branch name to stay in
the loop about their most local library events as well.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Okay, Alie, this is great info. Thank you so much
for all you do for the Spice Bank.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Awesome. Thank you, Nicole, and thanks for highlighting it. It's
a really cool thing and I'm glad that we're getting
the word out some more folks.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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