In 2024, the 15th annual March for the Food Bank raised an astounding $607,600. This allows us to provide the equivalent of 1.8 million meals to the community.
We can’t wait to join everyone again on November 24 & 25 for the 16th annual March for the Food Bank in 2025!
Registration information and event details will be available in the fall of 2025.
About the March
Every year, the Food Bank and Monte Belmonte lead a march against hunger for 43 miles from Springfield to Greenfield. Monte, Congressman Jim McGovern, Food Bank Executive Director Andrew Morehouse, and supporters fundraise to support the Food Bank’s mission and spread awareness about how hunger affects people throughout the region.
The community is encouraged to make donations by phone or online while Monte and the marchers make their way across three counties, and both WRSI and NEPM will be airing special programming about food insecurity and Hunger during the days of the march.
Monday
The following schedules are from previous years. Times and locations are subject to change for the 2025 March for the Food Bank.
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 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 1 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 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 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?
The Food Bank relies on the support of people like you to fulfill its mission to provide healthy food to people experiencing hunger in Western Massachusetts today and create a more food-secure tomorrow.
Feeding America estimated that in 2022 12.1 % of Western Massachusetts regularly experienced food insecurity – nearly 100,000 people. Our own, more recent data suggests it may be even more. The Food Bank is currently serving 120,000 people each month alongside our partner pantries, shelters, and meal sites across the four counties.
When Monte Belmonte first marched the empty shopping cart from Northampton to Greenfield in 2010, he did so because he saw the way our communities are impacted by hunger and wanted to make a difference. 560 miles, more than 4 million dollars of donations, and hundreds of participants later, he has more than proven the power of community action.
When you join the March for the Food Bank you know you will have a tangible impact on hunger. Every dollar raised provides the equivalent of 3 nutritious meals to people in the region facing food insecurity and hunger. The individual fundraising goal of $250 provides the equivalent of 750 meals.
Be part of more than a fundraising event – be a part of a movement!
Registration details and links will be available on this page in the fall of 2025.