Daniel's Table Opens 7,000-Square-Foot Framingham Facility With Market and Health Services

Daniel's Table opened a 7,000-square-foot facility at 26 Pearl St. In Framingham, combining a food market, health services and technology, with a $1.5 million buildout funded by donors. The nonprofit's first market in the new space is set for Nov. 4, followed by a grand opening Nov. 5, Yahoo reported. Daniel's Table is a nonprofit founded by David Blais and his wife, Alicia, that has spent more than a decade addressing food insecurity in Framingham and the surrounding community.

Inside the Pearl Street Facility

The new space includes Daniel's Table's twice-weekly food market, exam rooms, nutrition and mental health services, a commercial kitchen and space for community and children's programming. The market will operate Tuesdays from 3 p.m. To 6 p.m. And Wednesdays from 12 p.m. To 3 p.m., using a program called the Predictable Choice Market that lets clients view offerings two days in advance. Next to the market is the Karen and Rob Hale Family Nutrition Education Center, which will host children's programming and nutrition education.

One of the most significant additions is software developed by Daniel's Table with an outside team that Blais said has been six years in the making. The software includes a 125-question intake questionnaire covering topics including mental health and monthly food intake, designed to determine how much food is missing from a person's diet each month and break the answers into five food categories. "This is the only piece of software like this in the United States," Blais said. The software also tracks inventory, outreach efforts and other statistics.

The facility includes three exam rooms where clients can be evaluated for a variety of health needs, each with a "veggie meter" that Blais said measures fruit and vegetable consumption. Another room is dedicated to nutrition and mental health therapy, and Blais said Daniel's Table plans to partner with MetroWest Nutrition and Therapy to provide those services. There are also plans to hire a Nurse Practitioner in the future. A large commercial kitchen will be used to prepare meals and hold cooking classes focused on healthy, affordable food.

Blais said the new facility is intended to build on how Daniel's Table addresses food insecurity before its effects become more deeply rooted, particularly among children. He said that between 200 and 500 children in Framingham go to bed hungry each night. "Food insecurity has two pieces to it. One is the physical part of it is, 'I'm hungry,' and you can end hunger with a sandwich. But the psychological parts of it, if we don't limit the amount of time that someone is experiencing it, they will carry that stress for the rest of their lives," Blais said. "For us, it's really important that we try and catch it."

The Pearl Street property previously housed Daniel's Table in a one-story building that was demolished in 2024. The nonprofit temporarily relocated to 56 Park St. While construction was underway. Blais said the property was sold to a developer, with Daniel's Table receiving a 99-year lease for the ground floor. Apartments occupy the floors above, including 25% designated as affordable units. "We're walking into this debt free," Blais said.

What Happens Next at Daniel's Table

Daniel's Table will hold its first market in the new space on Nov. 4, followed by a grand opening Nov. 5. Blais said Daniel's Table plans to partner with MetroWest Nutrition and Therapy to provide nutrition and mental health therapy services.