Eos Grantees in the News

Western Mass Summit Takes on Hunger

With hunger rising amidst a stagnant economy, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, an Eos grantee, recently convened the first-ever Western Massachusetts Hunger Summit, drawing 150 community members and advocates to the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The need is greater than ever: in the first eight months of 2009, The Food Bank’s emergency food network distributed 24% more meals to needy families than during the same period in 2008. Says Food Bank staffer Robin Claremont, “It’s been a record year of food distribution for The Food Bank, and that trend shows no signs of slowing down.”

The Summit’s morning sessions were geared to agencies grappling directly with hunger, and included best-practice sharing sessions and workshops on topics such as fundraising, volunteer management, and food safety. The afternoon sessions engaged the general public on policy and advocacy issues including obesity and hunger.

The event was keynoted by Joel Berg, author of All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America, and Executive Director of The New York City Coalition Against Hunger. He stressed the importance of working towards long-term solutions to hunger, in addition to providing emergency food assistance, and praised The Food Bank for expanding the traditional role of food banking into issues of self-sufficiency, advocacy, community-based projects, and education. Agrees Claremont, “The most positive trend for The Food Bank is that we’re engaged in many different partnerships that seek to create ongoing access to affordable and nutritious foods for everyone.”

Increasingly, communities are taking action. The City of Springfield has announced the creation of a new Food Policy Council that will work to improve local food systems and better ensure access to healthy food for all residents. And as winter approaches, The Food Bank urgently seeks volunteers, donors, and advocates to help make their vision of ending hunger a reality.

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