GREENFIELD — With winter school break underway, local nonprofits that support families facing food insecurity have some added support, after nearly 400 bags of food, plus additional cash donations, were collected during the 22nd annual Supper for Six food drive, representing an increase over 2025’s contributions.
“It was just so heartwarming seeing people wanting to give,” said Terry Desautels, chair of Women’s Way, the affinity group of United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region that organizes Supper for Six each year.
The Feb. 10 collection event at Baystate Franklin Medical Center gathered nonperishable food in reusable bags donated by Greenfield Cooperative Bank.
“It’s really just one more way that we are instilling the importance of giving back and the importance of community service and taking care of their neighbors,” said Linda Stacy, associate director of alumni and development at The Bement School in Deerfield, which donated 120 bags of food to Supper for Six.
According to Desautels, the total number of bags of food donated came in just under 400. After factoring in additional cash donations, where about $50 is equivalent to one bag of food, the effort was able to gather around 450 bags of food in all. The bags and cash donations were distributed to seven agencies, four of which were social service agencies and three of which were food banks.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western Massachusetts, The United Arc, Mary Lyon Foundation and The Heartwing Center all walked away with 68 bags each, and The Salvation Army, Franklin County Community Meals Program and Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Center for Self-Reliance received around 40 bags each, along with a higher percentage of the cash donations, Desautels said.
“The idea is that the food banks can buy in bulk for food, so they do better with the money, not bags,” Desautels explained. “The agencies do better [with bags] because their clients are families.”
With Women’s Way having collected more than 300 bags of food in 2025, this year’s Supper for Six exceeded the previous effort at a time when food insecurity has been on the rise. According to the 2025 Greater Boston Food Bank’s Fifth Statewide Food Access Report, 50% of households in Franklin and Hampshire counties experienced food insecurity in 2024 — a 13% increase from the year before.
The United Church of Bernardston contributed 34 bags of food.
“Everyone was helping each other unload their bags from the cars and I was greeted by two of the people,” recounted Gina Froment of the United Church of Bernardston, adding that those accepting the donations were “very appreciative and helpful.”
With the Supper for Six collection event behind them for this year, organizers with Women’s Way are planning to have a wrap-up meeting in early March and then begin planning for their next event, Blooming Backpacks, which is usually held in August. The donation drive, which focuses on collecting backpacks and school supplies while leveraging additional monetary donations, allowed the nonprofit to provide 337 backpacks that were distributed to students across Franklin County in 2025.
Desautels emphasized the generosity of both the community donors and Baystate Franklin Medical Center for hosting the collection event, saying that she “just [wants] to really say thank you to the community for the support that they showed.”