The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts (and food banks and pantries in general) received a shoutout on celebrated author and activist W. Kamau Bell’s podcast, WHO’S WITH ME? Mo Willems, children’s author, illustrator, and creator of beloved characters like Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny, was on the podcast along with his wife and creative partner, Cher Willems.

When asked what nonprofit or cause they want people to know about, Cher said: “So, we have two categories of things that we really care about. Food. Making sure people have food to eat is really my thing. And your local food pantry, if you can give them money, they can do very efficient things with it.”

Kamau Bell spoke about the purchasing power of food banks. Mo Willems said, “When we were in Massachusetts, Cher did a lot of work with our local pantry, but also with what we call the mothership. There are larger regional groups that can buy in bulk. The Food Bank of Western Mass, they did amazing work, and they got big enough that they were able to build a larger building and hire local people to physically build that building. So I think that your local food pantry, but also that one step up.”

Cher also said, “The other thing is that if you support the food bank that’s one step up, you’re going to benefit the communities that are near you that aren’t yours. Because they’re the ones that are buying in bulk and they can get that food to those other sort of last-mile places.

Thanks for the amazing shout out! If you’re interested in addressing food insecurity in Western Mass, learn more about how to get involved.