What an amazing place to volunteer some of your time to help this organization help others in need…read moreof food. The staff was wonderful to talk to and they explained how the food reaches those in need. They give you instructions on how to help that day. It's a super team activity or you can sign up to volunteer on your own. I hope to come back again with my team. It was a very fulfilling day. Dress comfortable as you will gathering foods and packing them and working in their warehouse. Such an altruistic place. I love what they do for others

The place is more like a fashion agency than a food bank as upper management would rather look good…read morethan do good. I've witnessed multiple people get turned away and not receive food although they can give boxes of non perishable food out at their own discretion. When perishable food is donated it usually sits on a shelf in the cool until it goes bad and then it's discarded. Many project completed by volunteers often go to the wayside as it sits in the warehouse and does not make it to a food pantry before items in the box pass the extended shelf life. Beware!!!

I first found out about the Massachusetts Avenue Project when I was looking for place near me to…read moredrop off kitchen compost. MAP is one of the drop-off locations for the City of Buffalo's residential food scrap collection program. If you'd like to participate, you can bring your scraps any time and look for the orange bins on the outer side of the fence. But MAP is more than just a place to drop off compost. It's an urban farm on the West Side that provides job and leadership training for low income youth. It also hosts cooking classes and gardening workshops, and a seasonal farm stand. You can also rent space in their farmhouse and/or commercial kitchen as well. I believe you can contact the org to request a tour of the farm (suggested donation $5), though I got a chance to see the grounds and go inside the farmhouse during MAP's annual seedling sale, where they also had outside vendors. Even though we didn't buy any seedlings (my recent track record with plants is not so great), it was still a fun visit. My three-year-old was interested in MAP's resident chickens, the demonstration beehive, and in the baby cows that were visiting the farm that day. We also purchased some food from one of the outside vendors, and some honey made by MAP's own bees. I'd definitely recommend being on the lookout for other MAP events if you're interested in locally grown food or edible gardening.

This is for M.A.P.'s farm location; 389 Mass. Ave. Went here for a visit with a bunch of other…read moreteachers to learn more about the organization and what they do. M.A.P. is an urban garden that is trying, very successfully IMO, to fill a "food drought" that is on the west side of Buffalo. They sell fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs and even chickens for awhile. Cool garden items: -They have two awesome aquaponic system to raise the fish and filter water. -Cool sized compost heap. -9 city house plots but you can't tell the size just from looking at the front For a $2 suggested donation, someone will show you around and answer all your questions!

Harvest. House is an amazing non-profit. They offer a wide range of services and excel at each…read more Charity Navigator rates them at 96/100. For every dollar donated, $.96 goes to client benefits. Amazing!

terrible place....staff (medical students) jokes and talks while patients wait hours....terrible…read morecommunication on wait times, treatments, etc....go to er instead.....

First, we can't believe there's only one review, and it's several years old, for MAP!…read moreWe stopped by one of their thurs farmers markets where they have various local vendors (mostly fresh food) and they offer some freshly prepared food of their own. We ordered their soup, which included delicata squash, onion, cabbage, carrots, tomato. $7.00/16 oz. Unfortunately, the onion overpowered most of the other flavors. The soup was well loaded with veggies, tho, and if we specifically took a piece of squash out by itself, its flavor was fresh! We'll try somethig else next time.

The Massachusetts Avenue Project proudly hosts the Growing Green Program, a youth development and…read moreurban agriculture program about increasing healthy food access and improving our communities. Their program and policy work is all about making our food system more local and inclusive. They have a crop share. Building is gorgeous. Parking is on surrounding side streets WATCH the signs you will get ticketed. Bathrooms clean and bright. They have a restaurant grade kitchen you can rent and full green houses out back.

A comprehensive resource center for Veterans in Western New York. NOT affiliated with the VA, this…read morenon-profit offers career counseling, referrals for homeless Veterans, a clothes closet, & a bank of computers available for job search. There is also a large common room with a large TV. Coffee and tea are always available. Paula's Doughnuts donates several dozen almost every day. Paula takes care of the Vets.

I don't know how I never reviewed the store before, but it's been open perhaps three years now? Or…read moreI've been aware of it anyway for about that long. It's on Sheridan, it's much smaller than Savers, Amvets or Goodwill or any of those kinds of stores, making it a very easy place to stop and do a quick run in if you're looking for something or a quick run in just to check it out. Easy parking out front.

I am a woman on a mission. In an attempt to find the replacement thrift store (RIP Payne ave…read moreSalval) I flailed my way across Sheridan on foot in search of new, well old, pants. It's close to my regular grocery stores, so I was really hoping this was going to be the place. All I can say is that it's not not the place. Walking in, I immediately came to face a large security footage screen, as if to deter me from theft. The proceeds of the sales go towards feeding and clothing the underprivileged (they say they even give some donations to the people in need, which explains where all the clothes I throw in those red boxes around town go) which you would hope would make anyone with a conscience pay up, though at the prices they charge, I could see why one wouldn't want to. The prices are more comparable to a low end clothing retailer like Walmart than second hand stores I have grown accustomed to. They also had the colored tags, and I looked unsuccessfully for signage to see if it meant any deals. Their website explains the color would make something half off, which must not have been the case today. I combed through the racks, which are sorted by type and size instead of color. I was able to find one cheaper pair of pants to try on, so I headed to the back, where there were two massive unlocked fitting rooms. They were super clean and spacious with a wall sized mirror, a bench and a rack for returns. I could comfortably kick my legs about (yes, kick, as I was testing the durability) and squat down (butt crack coverage) without worrying about hitting the wall. Side quest accomplished. I had also looked through the rest of the store: furniture, housewares, toys and books. I was disturbed to find a used bottle of mouthwash for sale on the shelf, which is mostly the reason why when deciding between a three and a four for this review, I knocked it down. The cashier asked if I wanted to join the loyalty program, to which I declined, watching my total pop up on a screen in front of me. They're rounding pennies now for those paying cash. Which in the grand scheme of things hopefully means that an extra two cents is helping those they serve. I might come back at some point, with more money in my wallet to poke around, but for a place called Heart, this isn't my new love.

I recently hit a hard time and needed food assistance for one month and I contacted this pantry…read more They were very nice, sweet and non-judgmental. They loaded me up with food, and other essentials. I appreciate the food and encouragement. These folks are heaven sent!

Stopped in today for a fish fry, it came with 2 pieces of fish (breaded, beer battered, or a few…read morechoices of broiled), choice of potato (ff, baked or tater tots), and 2 sides (Mac salad, potato salad, coleslaw or lazy pierogi). I had the breaded fish, ff, lazy pierogi & coleslaw. I would pass on the fries next they were frozen fries I would definitely go with the baked or tater tots. The star of the plate would have to be the lazy pierogi, loaded with mushrooms & butter. The half fish is $18 and full is $22. Our bill came to $52 for 2 whole fish fries & four beers. The dining area could use a little more character but it's clean and the waitresses were attentive.

Came here last night for a meat raffle. This was a new experience for us and so much fun!…read more American Legion Halls always give me a warm feeling that includes early memories of my childhood and my Dad. He was always so proud of being a member. This particular hall is large and very clean, including the rest rooms. The bar for this event was serving free beer and pop. You could purchase mixed drinks for a nominal fee. The bartender was quick and friendly. The setup worked well for the meat raffle. The space can also be used/rented for other large gatherings. Thank you to all the veterans for your service. 2923-107