• Contact Us
• Site Map

• Who We Are
  • Our Team
  • Eos Fellows
  • Open Positions
  • Contact Us
  • History
• 
• How We Work
  • Approach
  • Program Areas
• 
• Grants
  • Portfolio
  • Emergency Assistance
  • Investment Profiles
  • Applying for Funds
• 
• Major Initiatives
  • Boston Rising
• 
• In the News
  • Andrea's Op Eds
  • Eos in the News
  • Grantees in the News
  • Emergency Assistance
•  

Taking on Hunger in Western Massachusetts

When food banks began in 1970s and early 1980s, they were seen as a temporary solution to hunger. But they have become a permanent part of the landscape The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, an Eos grantee, is out to change that with two pilot programs in Mason Square, Springfield, and seven rural towns in northern Berkshire County where residents experience above-average rates of hunger.

Target:Hunger seeks to ensure access to nutritious and affordable food for residents who experience or are at-risk of hunger in these areas by working with the communities to institutionalize sustainable strategies. With 25 partners in each community—including social service agencies, farmers, students, communities of faith, people personally affected by food security, government officials, statewide anti-hunger agencies, and concerned citizens—the results will be measured using a variety of indicators that assess access to affordable, nutritious food at the beginning and end of the project.

In the last decade, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has seen a threefold increase in the amount of food they distribute for hunger relief. Emergency food pantries can be a lifesaver, but often don’t stock the fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and lean meats that are healthiest, but can be expensive for low-income families. Additionally, well stocked, affordable supermarkets are abundant in the suburbs, but rare in inner cities and rural areas. Lack of adequate transportation and grocery stores within walking distance have been shown to create “food deserts” in low-income areas that have a measurable negative impact on health.

Target:Hunger has and will continue to focus in the next several years on connecting residents with food resources in their own communities; cultivating volunteers who will encourage residents to enroll in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the new name for Food Stamps); teaching community members skills such gardening, cooking, budgeting, and nutrition; establishing farmers’ markets and community gardens; linking farmers and food wholesalers with schools and local retail outlets where “food deserts” exist; and advocating for systemic changes at the local and state levels. Target:Hunger dares to say that hunger is preventable.

# # #