Mission: The mission of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is to feed our neighbors in need and lead the community to end hunger.
Vision: A western Massachusetts where no one goes hungry and everyone has access to nutritious food.
Core Values: The Food Bank believes that everyone has the right healthy food regardless of their circumstances. Therefore, our actions are guided by the following values:
Collaboration
- We pursue collaborative approaches to solutions based on mutual respect, trust, and accountability.
- We are committed to partnerships and sharing expertise to meet the immediate need for emergency food
and address the underlying causes of hunger.
Community
- We seek community-based approaches that advance self-reliance and capacity, build on existing assets,
and allow residents to take leadership of their own solutions to hunger. - We believe in the power of advocacy and education as a means to create change in communities.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
- We strive to have the diversity of our community and the people we serve reflected in our staff and board of directors.
- We believe that an understanding of the inequalities in access to food is essential to conducting our work.
- We are committed to increasing cultural competence and inclusion in our organization.
Integrity and Accountability
- We act with integrity in our use of resources, partnerships, organizational governance, and implementation of our mission.
- We hold ourselves accountable to conducting our work efficiently, effectively and with excellence.
Respect
- We believe all people should be treated with equal respect and dignity.
Staff Recognition
- We recognize that the dedication and talent of our staff is the source of our success.
- We support staff through professional growth opportunities, rewarding work, and recognition of accomplishments.
- We believe that work-life balance is important in creating a productive and positive workplace.
Sustainability
- We seek to maximize the impact and longevity of our programs and resources.
- We value the commitment and investment of volunteers and supporters in sustaining our work.
- We follow environmentally sustainable principles in our facility operations and workplace practices.
Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025
Feed our neighbors in need by providing more meals to more people more equitably
- By 2025, we close the meal gap by distributing at least 11.6 M meals annually through food acquisition, distribution, and SNAP enrollment.
- We prioritize child and elder hunger.
- By 2025, the Meals per Person in Need (MPIN) in each of the four counties falls within an equitable range.
- We increase the distribution of healthy food and increase the sources of nutritious food assistance to the Network.*
*The Network – the regional emergency food network composed of members of The Food Bank AND The Food Bank.
Lead and engage the community to end hunger
- We steadily cultivate existing and new donors and volunteers to support The Food Bank.
- We inform and educate the public about hunger, its underlying causes and its impact on households.
- We advance the innovations of the Coalition to End Hunger (coalitiontoendhunger.org)
- We lead the Network and the community in advocating for policies that address and end hunger.
- We increase brand awareness of The Food Bank.
Strengthen The Food Bank and the Network to operate responsibly, effectively, safely and sustainably
- We have effective and efficient practices to support The Food Bank and its programs.
- We undertake a successful comprehensive campaign to assure resources to sustain our strategies.
- We use data and technology to inform and implement our strategies and measure effective performance.
- Our employees and board of directors are engaged and committed to The Food Bank’s mission and vision.
- We serve the needs of our Network by facilitating ongoing communication to and from our members.
- We support disaster response best practices with the Network and the community.
- We support the Network to close the Meal Gap.