This guide is provided as an assistance to the public and is meant to offer a few options and examples, it is not all-encompassing.
Due to municipal procurement law, unfortunately we cannot list for-profit companies. If you would like to recommend a non-profit with local options, to add to this page, please email enviro@medford-ma.gov.
DONATE
REPAIR
BUY THOUGHTFULLY
DONATE
DONATE
For clothes, furniture, bikes, books, housewares, electronics, and other items that might be useful to someone else, consider donating to local organizations in and around Medford.
Clothes, Furniture, and/or Housewares
Before bringing items to donate understand what an organization can and can’t accept—for example clothing resell places can’t resell socks full of holes but textile recycling can take unwearable items. Donating with care ensures that your donations don’t go to a landfill.
- Salvation Army (487 Broadway, Somerville)
- Epilepsy Foundation New England (Scheduled Pick-Up for Clothing)
- The Goodwill Store (230 Elm Street, Somerville)
- Bay State Textile Recycling Drop Bins (Multiple locations at Medford schools—find details at link)
Bikes
- Bikes not Bombs (284 Armory Street, Jamaica Plain)
Books
- Friends of Medford Public Library (drop off at the library, 111 High Street, Medford)
- Little Free Libraries around Medford (map showing various drop off locations)
Food
Please be mindful to bring food that is still edible and good to eat. If a pantry is full try coming back later or visiting a different one—food left on the ground ends up feeding pests.
- LOPH Community Fridge (75 Riverside Ave, Medford)
- Unitarian Universalist’s Community Cupboard Food Pantry (147 High Street, Medford)
- Medford Micro Pantries (various locations around Medford)
School Supplies, Home Goods, or Office Supplies
West Medford Community Center has a donation list (111 Arlington St, Medford)
- Reuse Marketplace post supplies online
- Restore Boston (1580 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA) for flooring, appliances, lighting, and other hard to donate items
General/Facebook Groups – All of the Above! ^
- Everything is Free Medford
- Buy Nothing Medford (Hillside/South Medford)
- Buy Nothing Medford (North of Mystic/r16)
- Freecycle.org
- Mutual Aid Medford And Somerville (MAMAS) (Monetary donations accepted alongside other materials—reach out to local contact about specific items you might want to donate)
REPAIR
REPAIR
For broken and well-loved items consider visiting a local repair shop instead of tossing out or replacing options are available in Medford and the surrounding area for:
- Bike repair
- Furniture repair
- Shoe repair and resoling
- Tailors
- Electronics and appliance repair
- Mystic Makerspace (111 Arlington St, Medford, Sometimes offers DIY repair workshops, visit their page to see what is coming up)
BUY THOUGHTFULLY
BUY THOUGHTFULLY
Beyond finding gently used items at some of the above donation options, reduce waste by:
- Planning out grocery lists
- Buying bulk
- Looking for package-free options
- Bringing your own reusable bags, travel mugs, and containers when shopping
- Medford Farmer’s Market (Condon Shell, Medford) Buying directly from local farmers and skipping the grocery store plastic packaging