How Castle Helped the Greater Boston Food Bank Communicate During a National Crisis
The Greater Boston Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in New England, delivering over 90 million healthy meals annually through its 600+ community partners in Eastern Massachusetts.
Castle has been the GBFB’s public relations agency of record for more than 6 years. During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Castle mobilized its always-on media strategy to elevate GBFB’s leadership as a trusted voice on food insecurity and the real-time impacts of delayed SNAP benefits.
THE SITUATION
Mobilizing our industry expert as a key media resource during historic government shutdown
When the longest shutdown in government history set in during October and November 2025, SNAP benefits were significantly delayed, meaning that recipients who would use those benefits to buy food at retail were without this essential resource, driving more people into already overextended food pantries.
For The Greater Boston Food Bank, this meant a surge in demand among their 600+ community partners who distribute food through pantries and other local organizations.
We immediately mobilized to ensure that GBFB’s President & CEO Catherine D’Amato, drawing on her 30 years of managing this complex hunger relief organization, was in front of media, shining a light on the vast need and amplifying what local pantries and community agencies were experiencing in real time.
OUR APPROACH
A media strategy that turns real-time monitoring into impact with speed and accuracy
Our rapid response media strategy met the moment – we continuously monitored relevant topics to identify opportunities, while also monitoring the reporters and outlets covering specific angles.
In addition to our regional media, we focused on a core list of national outlets’ coverage of the shutdown and the SNAP issue, reaching out to the right reporters with an offer of Catherine D’Amato as a resource.
This perspective helped illuminate the shutdown’s impact on GBFB’s network of pantry partners and the families they serve — directing people in need toward available resources, clarifying how others could contribute, and reinforcing the urgency of sustained funding to keep hunger‑relief efforts operating.
THE IMPACT
Shaping the narrative beyond Boston: Connecting regional and national outlets with expert community voices
Castle’s media approach put our expert client at the forefront during a government shutdown, giving context and thought leadership to a national crisis. GBFB’s ongoing commentary during the 2025 shutdown included Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Washington Post and other leading regional outlets.
