Bank of America Charitable Foundation contributes $25,000 to The Food Bank to provide more food
On Thursday, September 13 — national Hunger Action Day — The Food Bank welcomed employees from Bank of America to our warehouse in Hatfield, who volunteered their time to help sort and pack fresh and frozen food for distribution. The group also presented The Food Bank with a $25,000 grant award (through their charitable foundation) to support the distribution of even more emergency food throughout the four counties of western Massachusetts.
The grant will allow us to achieve our goal of distributing 10.8 million pounds of healthy food this year to food insecure households in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties. The food will be distributed to individuals facing hunger through our 200 member agencies (comprised of food pantries, meal programs, community centers and shelters), as well as our direct-to-client feeding programs (Mobile Food Bank, and Brown Bag: Food for Elders).
“We are very grateful for this generous contribution from Bank of America Charitable Foundation,” says The Food Bank’s Executive Director Andrew Morehouse. “It is through these strong partnerships that we can continue to be a reliable resource for our neighbors who may not know where their next meal is coming from.”
Bank of America strives to focus on the economic mobility of individuals and families by addressing basic needs, which includes the fight against hunger. Our partnership with Bank of America Charitable Foundation will provide approximately 75,000 meals this year.
The need for emergency food in our region remains high. Last year, we distributed more than 10.6 million pounds of food — the equivalent of 8.8 million meals. Of those pounds, 27% were fresh fruits and vegetables. Currently, more than 223,000 people throughout western Massachusetts rely on the services of The Food Bank and its member agencies (30% are kids under the age of 18, and 14% are seniors over the age of 65).