Registration and event information coming soon!
Last year’s March for the Food Bank raised more than $900,000. We set an ambitious $650,000 goal, knowing the stakes were high. You not only met the goal, your crushed it! Every dollar we raised is the equivalent of two nutritious meals. Your support provided over 1.8 million meals for people across all four counties. Thank you!
About the March
Each year, this event puts hunger directly in front of the public and refuses to let it be ignored.
Led by Monte Belmonte of New England Public Media, Congressman, Jim McGovern, and Food Bank Executive Director Andrew Morehouse, marchers walk 43 miles over two days from Springfield to Greenfield.
The march raises funds and awareness for the Food Bank and helps create sustained public attention around the policies, systems, and economic conditions that drive hunger in the first place. Before, during, and after the march, the community is invited to donate in support of the Food Bank and the marchers.
WRSI and NEPM provide focused coverage before and during the march, examining hunger as it exists here in Western Massachusetts.
The march is more than a symbol of solidarity on the issue of hunger. It’s a meaningful way for people to come together and create change.
Tentative March Schedule
The following schedules are from previous years. Times and locations are subject to change for the 2026 March for the Food Bank.
Monday
The first day begins with a 6:30 a.m. kickoff ceremony at Martin Luther King Jr Community Center in Springfield. Coffee and small bites are available to fuel the first day’s trek to Northampton, and featured speakers express their appreciation to all of those who make this event possible.
At 7:00 a.m., the March begins weaving its way through Springfield and Chicopee and up to Holyoke. It makes various stops along the way including NEPM, Chicopee Town Center, Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen, and Kate’s Kitchen, where Food Bank partners, legislators, and community members take time out of their days to join the March or cheer it on.
Monday’s lunch break is in Holyoke, where food and water are provided for everyone who has registered for Monday and opted into the day’s lunch. Details on what will be served and information for those with allergies and dietary restrictions will be added to this page, the schedule on the Route Maps page, and communicated with those who have already registered by email as soon as it becomes available.
From there, it is on to Route 9 to the WRSI radio station in Northampton for the end of day one and mini-donuts from Wake the Dead Donuts!
Tuesday
Day two begins at 6:00 a.m. outside Congressman McGovern’s Northampton office on Pleasant Street. Heading across the bridge into Hadley, marchers make a rest stop along Route 9 before entering Amherst.
There Monte is joined by what is often the largest group of either day as groups of students from local schools often join the March as it passes through downtown. Last year over 200 participants walked with the March for the Food Bank for the stretch from downtown through UMass’s Campus and to the Amherst Survival Center.
Lunch for Tuesday’s marchers is served around 1:00 p.m. by the Holyoke Hummus food truck at Berkshire Brewery Company in South Deerfield. Once rested and refreshed, the march begins its final trek through historic Deerfield and north to downtown Greenfield.
At the top of the Bank Hill row, Hawkes and Reed Performing Arts Center is alight with music, warmth, and food from Stone Soup Cafe as marchers arrive there for the after-party around 6:00 p.m.- the Hawkes and Reed Finish Line Feast. There, the final fundraising totals for both days is announced and the celebration of everyone’s hard work begins!
Why Join
Hunger doesn’t end on its own. It ends when people decide to act and stay engaged.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts works to build lasting food security in our region by providing nutritious food and partnering with communities to end hunger. That work depends on people who understand that food insecurity is not an abstract issue, but a daily reality across our region.
The march began in 2010 with Monte Belmonte pushed an empty shopping cart from Northampton to Greenfield. It wasn’t a stunt. It was a response to what was already visible in our communities, and a decision to do something about it. Since then, the march has covered 560 miles, raised more than $4 million, and brought hundreds of participants into a shared effort that continues year after year.
When you join the March for the Food Bank, your impact is immediate and measurable. Every dollar raised provides the equivalent of two nutritious meals to people in our region facing food insecurity. The individual fundraising goal of $250 delivers the equivalent of 500 meals—distributed through a trusted food assistance network serving every community throughout Western Massachusetts.
The march is a reminder that we can take responsibility for what we can change and keep doing the work.
You can help make a difference by becoming a sponsor of the March
Please contact Cheyenne Burnham, the Public Engagement Manager, at cheyenneb@foodbankwma.org with any questions.
