Winchendon’s new multi-use center provides food, jobs, and youth programs

WINCHENDON – A long-vacant bowling alley has been transformed into a multi-use community center, known as The Hub, bringing together food access, youth programming and workforce development.

Operated by the Winchendon Community Action Committee, The Hub serves as a central gathering place for residents, said Paul Hackett, a resident leader at The HEAL Collaborative. The new community center opened in February.

The facility brings together a range of offerings under one roof, including a client-choice food pantry, financial coaching and case management through its Economic Empowerment Hub, and a clothing closet and thrift store known as Community Threads. It also includes active bowling lanes used for open bowling, events and youth programming.

Hackett said the project grew out of increasing demand for services, along with limited transportation and the lack of a full-service grocery store in town. Two new ADA-compliant entrances and ramps now ensure full accessibility to the food pantry, storage areas and programming spaces,

“When the opportunity arose to purchase and renovate a long-vacant bowling alley in town, it presented a unique chance to re-imagine how those needs could be addressed,” Hackett said.

He shared remarks from Miranda Jennings, executive director of The Hub, about the early stages of the project.

“It was just a pipe dream,” Jennings said in an email. “We left thinking, ‘we can’t do this. This is too big. We don’t have any money. But here we are.’”

Support from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts helped fund multiple phases of the project, including building upgrades, kitchen equipment and program development.

Hackett said the Hub’s expanded stabilization services through the Winchendon Community Action Committee have supported more than 315 households, and in 2025, it distributed more than $20,000 in emergency assistance to families facing housing and utility crises.

He said the work has also been shaped by the HEAL Collaborative, a partnership that brings together organizations including Heywood Hospital, CHNA 9, Growing Places, the town of Winchendon and Mount Wachusett Community College.

Hackett cited comments from Jennings, about the role of the HEAL Collaborative.

“Without HEAL, we really wouldn’t be what we are today, and not just in terms of funding, but in terms of what the vision is,” she said.

Hackett said the HEAL Collaborative helped the Hub expand beyond emergency assistance and focus more on prevention, youth development, economic empowerment and community building.

A major part of that effort is the Youth Changemaker Leadership and Workforce Development Program, which gives local teens opportunities to gain hands-on job experience while building leadership skills.

Hackett said participants work in programs such as the Sunshine Café, a youth-run café where they prepare and serve food, manage inventory and interact with customers. He said the Local Makers Hub kitchen supports workforce training and small business development through a shared commercial space for residents and entrepreneurs.

Hackett said plans are in place to expand youth workforce programs and continue strengthening economic empowerment services.

He also pointed to comments from Jennings, about the broader mission of The Hub.

“It’s never, ever just about the food or the clothing or the bowling or the job skills,” she said. “It’s about something even more essential… It’s about community.”