United Way of Pioneer Valley distributes holiday meals

Date: 12/6/2022

CHICOPEE/SPRINGFIELD – United Way of Pioneer Valley (UWPV) distributed meals as a part of their annual Feed a Family food drive event. The organization hosted the food drive at their 236 Exchange St. location in Chicopee on Nov. 21 and at their 1441 Main St. office in Springfield on Nov. 22.

According to their mission statement, UWPV fights to lift the 25 communities of Hampden County, Granby and South Hadley out of poverty. The organization recently celebrated its 100-year milestone in June.

UWPV Chicopee Service Center Manager Lee Drewitz shared that the organization opened its first Chicopee pantry in 2021. After operating originally at 32 Exchange St., the organization then relocated to its 236 Exchange St. location in August. The Chicopee cupboard’s primary focus is addressing growing food insecurity concerns in the Chicopee Center area.

“There’s a huge problem with food insecurity in downtown Chicopee,” said Drewitz in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

The Chicopee branch has experienced significant activity since its debut. In 2021, UWPV distributed 30,025 pounds of food from April to the end of the year. During that time, the Chicopee location also enrolled 193 families and nearly 500 people as regular clients.

Drewitz said UWPV currently serves 45 households in the Chicopee community on a weekly basis. For the Feed a Family food drive, Drewitz estimated that 70 households received a package that included frozen chickens and a plethora of sides. During his time operating the Chicopee UWPV cupboard, Drewitz shared that the demand for food has risen considerably.

“We definitely seen the demand go up,” said Drewitz.

UWPV Director of Outreach and Programs Walter Rise confirmed the increased demand. In Springfield, Rise shared that the organization experienced a 600 percent increase in activity since opening their 1441 Main St. location in February. Rise cited several reasons for the increased need, including rising inflation rates and the challenging post-COVID-19 economy.

“These factors really compounded the growing need,” said Rise in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

Rise worked alongside community partners and UWPV staff members during Springfield’s first Feed a Family food drive in the city. He shared that the Springfield location served approximately 300 families during its holiday food drive.

“We are very happy to serve the community … all they should have to worry about is enjoying the holidays,” said Rise.

Rise also highlighted UWPV’s “holistic” approach to addressing poverty, including a financial education program entitled Thrive and a legal counsel kiosk at their Springfield location provided by Western New England University.

“We want to take some burden off families and build community wealth,” said Rise.

Rise said UWPV’s Feed a Family food drive would not work as effectively without strong community partners. Rise noted that Mayor Domenic Sarno’s office, Ernst Financial Group and the Springfield Police Department were active participants in the food drive.

“We are lucky to have a lot of great community partners,” said Rise.

Readers can learn more about United Way of Pioneer Valley at https://www.uwpv.org/.