Organizations donate to food bank during tough economyDate: 6/29/2009 By Rick Sobey
Staff Intern
The last 12 months have been an economic struggle for almost everyone in society. Millions of people lost jobs while others lost their life savings on Wall Street.
Then, there are the millions of people who do not have enough money to eat on a daily basis. Despite the recession and economic crisis, two organizations are meeting the increased demand for food assistance in the community.
The United Way of Pioneer Valley and an anonymous donor have each contributed a $100,000 emergency food grant to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The United Way of Pioneer Valley's donation was a dollar-for-dollar match of the anonymous donation.
Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the food bank, is grateful for these donations. They came during the toughest economic stretch in recent memory.
"It is heartening to see the local community stepping up to help prevent hunger during such challenging times for so many households in Western Massachusetts," Morehouse said.
Compared to the same quarter in 2007, October through December in 2008 saw a 17 percent increase in demand for emergency food assistance in the region. There has also been an eight percent increase in the amount of visitors at food programs. According to Morehouse, contributions have been able to keep up with the increased demand.
However, there are no signs that the food demand will decrease. Massachusetts' unemployment rates reached eight percent in April; therefore, it is likely that more people will continue to use food pantries and meal sites.
Morehouse has been seeing brand new people receive food during the past year. "There are now newly unemployed individuals and young families who never came to a pantry or meal site before," he said.
The United Way of Pioneer Valley's donation will support food assistance efforts in Hampden County. This grant brings the total amount of money United Way has distributed within the last few months to more than $400,000 for the increasing demand of food assistance in the region.
"These donations are in response to what has been going on in this community," Sylvia deHaas-Phillips, the interim Vice President of Community Impact at the United Way, said. "There has been such a huge increase in basic needs such as food, shelter and fuel."
The anonymous donor's grant is the first installment of a multi-year, $1 million pledge. This commitment guarantees that the food bank can provide food to the area during dire times.
The food bank will designate these donations to specific pantries and meal sites in its network of member agencies. These frontline food providers will then obtain enough food to meet the increasing demand for food assistance.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is the leading provider of emergency food that reaches individuals and families with lower incomes in the region. The organization distributes food to 149 programs, including the Brown Bag for Elders Program. This program serves more than 6,500 elders at 43 sites across Western Massachusetts. In 2008, the food bank provided 5.2 million meals to more than 102,000 people through this emergency food network.
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