Boston City Council approves $2.3 million elder meal grant, passes SPARC Act resolution unanimously

BOSTON — March 11, 2026 — Boston City Council unanimously approves $2.3 million elder nutrition grant and $97,000 consumer affairs grant, then blocks a resolution praising BPS graduation rates. The council voted 11-0 to accept $2,315,966.88 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs for the Senior Nutrition Program, which funded more than 2.3 million home-delivered meals and over 300,000 congregate meals across Boston neighborhoods in fiscal year 2025. Councillor Worrell, chair of the Committee on Labor and Economic Development, then moved to pass a $97,000 Massachusetts Attorney General consumer aid grant for the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, which the council approved unanimously. The council also unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the federal SPARC Act — backed by Senator Ed Markey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and others — to expand regional entrepreneurship hubs for minority and women business owners. The session's sharpest moment came when Councillor Mejia, chair of the Committee on Education, blocked a resolution commending BPS for reaching its highest-ever state-tracked graduation rate, citing a 2025 graduating class unaffected by the MCAS requirement for the first time following a November 2024 ballot measure, and data showing only about 17 percent of Black eighth-graders reading at grade level.