GREENFIELD — In an effort to curb food insecurity among Greenfield Community College students, the Franklin Community Co-op has already raised more than $7,000 for GCC’s Corner Market Food Pantry.
Wendy Sibbison, a member of the co-op’s board of directors who launched The Giving Circle initiative to raise $10,000 for the college’s food pantry, said she was inspired by a My Turn column by 42-year-old first-generation college student Mike Hannigan that was published in the Greenfield Recorder in April. Hannigan wrote, “At GCC, our campus food pantry is consistently packed. It’s one of the only reasons some students are able to stay in school.”
“There’s a ton of food insecurity because people are trying to support their families and go to college, and food is one of the things that there’s not enough money for,” Sibbison said. “The food pantry is a lifesaver.”
Of the $10,000 goal, Sibbison said The Giving Circle initiative has already raised $6,350 in addition to a $1,000 seed donation. The funds will be used to stock the food pantry’s shelves with organic foods that will be locally produced whenever possible, including some that are sources from the co-op. The donation will help supplement the college’s $60,000 fiscal year 2026 budget for the food pantry.
Sibbison added that the fundraising effort was, in part, a response to recent U.S. Department of Agriculture funding cuts, including the cancellation of $440,000 in food deliveries to western Massachusetts and reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
“[GCC’s] budget has gone up every year and the number of people they’ve served has gone up every year. In fiscal year 2024, they distributed 24,000 pounds of food. And the year before, they only distributed 7,200 pounds of food,” Sibbison said. “Their needs are going up. … Any money they don’t raise for their food comes out of the GCC Foundation, which is there mainly to support students, and the food is more of an indirect support for students. So every penny they take, as I understand, from the GCC Foundation is a fewer amount of scholarships that they can give to students.”
Efforts to reach GCC Foundation Executive Director Alexis Page and GCC Special Programs Coordinator for Food Security Cyndi Rebelo by phone were unsuccessful. However, in a statement, Rebelo said, “The pantry’s future depends on continued community support. The GCC community is grateful for the co-op-sponsored fundraiser to help maintain this crucial support for students on their educational journey. A $10,000 donation from co-op member-owners would be a dream come true.”
Those who wish to donate can do so online at gccfor.me/pantry-fund.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.
