BOSTON – On Sunday, May 3, nearly 4,000 participants gathered on Boston Common and joined virtually from across the country and around the world for Project Bread’s 58th Annual Walk for Hunger, the nation’s oldest continually running pledge walk. Walkers representing 216 towns across Massachusetts, along with participants from 23 U.S. states and five countries, united to take action for the 40% of Massachusetts households experiencing food insecurity. Donations are still coming in but the event is well on its way to hitting the goal of raising $1 million in support of statewide efforts to end hunger in the Commonwealth.
This year’s Walk comes at a critical inflection point for food security in Massachusetts. Forty percent of state households are experiencing food insecurity, amid historic cuts to SNAP over the last year that are forcing more families to make impossible choices between food and other basic needs. Against that backdrop, The Walk served as both a fundraiser and a rallying cry, drawing first-time participants alongside advocates who have walked for decades.
During the Opening Ceremony on the Boston Common Main Stage, Project Bread CEO Erin McAleer presented the prestigious Patrick Hughes Award for Social Justice to Jean McMurray, recently retired CEO of the Worcester County Food Bank. McMurray was honored for more than 30 years of advocacy and partnership advancing systemic solutions to hunger across Massachusetts and her ongoing work as advisor to the Make Hunger History Coalition.
The Walk featured a family-friendly, fully accessible 3-mile loop on Boston Common, with live entertainment, local food vendors, a cooking demonstration, and inclusive programming with ASL interpretation. Walkers were cheered on by family and friends throughout the festive route, which highlighted ways to get involved in the fight to end hunger.
Now in its eighth consecutive year, the Commonwealth Program welcomed 68 community-based organizations that fundraised as part of a joint initiative, retaining 60 percent of all funds they raised to support their own anti-hunger work while contributing to The Walk’s statewide goal.
Funds raised through The Walk support Project Bread’s year-round work to connect families to food when there’s nothing left at home, make sure kids have enough to eat, and guides everyday people through moments of crisis. Funds also support long-term solutions to ending hunger permanently. Fundraising for The Walk for Hunger continues. Visit www.projectbread.org/walk to donate or start a personal fundraiser.
People experiencing food insecurity should call Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333), which provides confidential, free assistance getting connected to a variety of food resources in 180 languages and for the hearing impaired. Counselors can pre-screen families and help them to apply for SNAP. Learn more at projectbread.org/get-help.

BOSTON, MASS. (April 29, 2026) – The North Atlantic right whale calving season has come to a close with the highest number of calves recorded since 2009.
The annual calving season in the southeastern United States, which runs from mid-November until mid-April, produced 23 mother-calf pairs, the fourth-highest count ever. It’s positive news for the critically endangered species with an estimated population of about 380.
Scientists with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium have been tracking the season closely and were pleased to see shorter intervals between calving for the majority of the whale moms.
“While a healthy right whale can give birth every three to four years, we had been seeing nearly 10 years between calves for some females. Many of this year’s moms have had shorter intervals—18 of them previously gave birth within the last six years—giving us hope that they may be healthier and can help grow the population faster,” said Amy Warren, Scientific Program Officer in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center.
Aerial survey teams from Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas conducted regular flights on the calving grounds throughout the season. By the end of the calving season, most of the right whales had begun migrating north. At least 18 of the 23 mother-calf pairs have been seen in Massachusetts waters so far this spring. Research teams from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center have documented over one-third of those pairs in Cape Cod Bay this past month.
In collaboration with a network of individuals and research organizations along the eastern seaboard, scientists in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center curate the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, an extensive photo-identification database that allows them to track right whales’ life stories including births, injuries, migration patterns, and age to create detailed histories of each individual whale. Scientists use this information to create a detailed list of mom-calf pairs with biographical information each calving season. This season’s list is available on the Aquarium’s website.
“It is hopeful to see 23 new calves born this year, but their survival into adulthood is still a long journey ahead in an ocean with many dangers and obstacles,” Warren added.
Right whales are experiencing an Unusual Mortality Event precipitated by increased injuries and deaths from human impacts, which is affecting the animals’ ability to survive and reproduce. While conservation and management efforts have progressed, the critically endangered species still faces threats including fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes.
ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM: The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit research and conservation organization that has protected and cared for our ocean and marine animals for more than 55 years. We provide science-based solutions and help shape policies that create measurable change to address threats the ocean faces. We inspire action through discovery and help create engaged, resilient communities.