The nonprofit Rachel’s Table is launching a new initiative to feed people in need in Franklin County and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Executive Director Jodi Falk said with more people unemployed, along with less food available, Rachel’s Table is partnering with local food businesses to purchase and deliver healthy basics, including protein and produce, to those who need it most.
The food will be delivered to soup kitchens, pantries and homeless shelters throughout the county, as well as in Hampden and Hampshire counties. Falk said the effort will meet a “desperate need.”
“With a generous gift from local community members Steve and Alissa Korn, we have successfully launched this much-needed program to assist those who are unemployed and food insecure,” Falk said. “Sending nutritious basics to the soup kitchens and other agencies will feed thousands of individuals in desperate situations.”
The first shipment was delivered April 8 and the second on April 21. She said Rachel’s Table, a program of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, will continue the effort for the duration of the pandemic.
“Sites in all three counties will receive food in the coming weeks,” she said.
Those sites include the Salvation Army in Greenfield and the Franklin County Community Meals Program. Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, which serves 150 to 200 meals per week, also gets food from Rachel’s Table.
Falk said the problem is that the funds will deplete by 25 percent over the next few weeks, but the need is growing, so the agency is looking to the community for help.
“We’re asking that community members join the Korns in donating what they can,” Falk said. “We implore you to help feed your neighbors who are out of work, food insecure or homeless.”
Donations to the Healthy Community Emergency Food Fund will go to provide food to more than 45 of Rachel’s Table’s partner agencies, who in turn feed the hungry.
“Now more than ever, it is incumbent upon those who are able to support those who are in need,” she said.
Falk said Rachel’s Table is continuing to develop new initiatives to fulfill its mission of reducing food waste and alleviating hunger as the COVID-19 situation progresses.
To donate to the Healthy Community Emergency Food Fund, visit rachelstablespringfield.org. Also visit Rachel’s Table on Facebook.