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Hunger Day on the Hill
As rising food prices place pressure on food banks and households alike, the four food banks in Massachusetts joined together to advocate for increased funding for emergency food through the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP). On May 6, food banks, food assistance agencies, anti-hunger advocates, and families affected by hunger held a Hunger Day on the Hill to call on legislators to restore MEFAP funding to $12.6 million, after it was cut to $11 million in the 2008 budget.
Learn more about Hunger Day on the Hill in a Boston Globe editorial and CBS news story.
In photo: The heads of the four food bank of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts delivering an award to Senate President Therese Murray. From left to right: Jean McMurray, Worcester County Food Bank; Amy Pessia, Merrimack Valley Food Bank; Andrew Morehouse, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Senate President Therese Murray; Catherine D'Amato, Greater Boston Food Bank
Local "Run for the Roses" party benefits The Food Bank
BridgeSide Grill, located in historic Sunderland, hosted its first Derby Day Party on April 30th,
complete with roses beautifully encased in a horseshoe ice sculpture! Guests were served mint juleps along with southern specialties such as deviled eggs, fried chicken, collard greens, bourbon balls, pecan pie
and, of course, Derby Day Pie. The attendees got into the spirit of The Run for the Roses by donning customary
Kentucky Derby hats. The evening was emceed by 93.9 The River's Kelsey Flynn, and included live Blue Grass music, raffle
prizes, and a contest for the best hat. The benefit raised close to
$1,000 to support The Food Bank’s work to reduce hunger and increase food security. A huge thank you
to BridgeSide Grill’s
owner Rose O'Hagan, and all of her staff, for making this event such a success.
2008 Food Bank Gala: Party for a Purpose is a Slam Dunk!
On April 11th, more than 300 people gathered at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield for a gourmet
wine and food tasting to support The Food Bank. The event raised over $60,000 to support our mission to reduce hunger
and increase food security. Everyone involved in The Food Bank's Party for a
Purpose helped make it a great success! Thank you to our attendees, event sponsors, auction donors, restaurants
and beverage vendors, and volunteers – you are making a big difference in the
fight against hunger.
The Food Bank Goes Green
This month’s celebration of Earth Day will be
especially meaningful for The Food Bank of Western
Massachusetts.The Food
Bank received its certification from the U.S. Green Building Council through
the LEED (Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System earlier
this year. LEED is the internationally
recognized standard for environmentally sustainable, or "green", building. With a Gold rating – the second highest level
possible – The Food Bank’s Hatfield facility becomes one of a growing number of
businesses and organizations around the world that are doing their part to
minimize the environmental impact of their operations.
Some highlights of
The Food Bank’s environmentally designed facility include:
- A 30
kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel system on the roof of the building that
supplies about 10% of the organization’s electricity
- Energy efficient lighting, heating/cooling, and refrigeration systems that
have reduced energy use by 35% per square foot
- Green
cleaning products, recycled paper products, and low-toxicity paints and
sealants
- An
employee carpooling program that saves about 8,000 commuter miles each year
- Outdoor
landscaping that emphasizes native plants and minimizes runoff and erosion
- The 60-acre
Food Bank Farm in Hadley that preserves natural riverside habitat and produces
dozens of crops each year without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or
herbicides
The Food Bank receives $60,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts received one of 25 awards given by the MA DPH Wellness Initiative, including five in western Massachusetts. The
$60,000 grant to The Food Bank will support its
Target:Hunger program in Mason Square,
Springfield,
and northern Berkshire County. Target:Hunger is a community-based organizing
initiative that focuses on reducing hunger in each community by 10% over four
years, and creating long-term solutions to food insecurity. In Springfield,
the DPH grant will fund Target:Hunger’s work to expand the newly-formed Mason
Square Farmers’ Market, launch a Mason Square Health Task Force, and host
wellness workshops. In the six rural
towns of northern Berkshire, the DPH grant will support efforts to
increase affordability and accessibility of the North Adams Farmers’ Market, and launch
school gardening programs. These
programs will focus on expanding services for community members who are
experiencing or at risk of hunger, and increasing overall community food
security.
Core
partners in Target:Hunger who will be leading community-level activities as
part of this grant include, in Springfield:
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Massachusetts Career Development Institute,
Springfield Partners for Community Action, Pioneer Valley Education Center,
Gardening the Community, Concerned Citizens of Mason Square, and Community
Involved in Sustaining Agriculture. In Berkshire County,
partners include: REACH Community Health Foundation, Drury High School, Adams Memorial Middle
School, Williams College, North
Adams Farmers’ Market, Berkshire Grown, Northern
Berkshire Community Coalition, and Berkshire Rides.
