GREENFIELD — When interim Executive Director Isabel “Charlie” Spencer took the helm of the Franklin County Community Meals Program in April, the organization only had enough money to operate for another month.
While still learning the ropes herself, Spencer was faced with difficult questions about how the crucial service could become more sustainable. Ultimately, she and the board of directors decided to pause the Greenfield and Northfield meal sites in early May to pour more time and energy into strengthening the program’s sustainability, though they continued to operate the sites in Orange and Turners Falls.
“Without a minute to take a beat and really address some of the urgent issues, we were really not putting our own oxygen mask on before helping others,” Spencer recalled.
Over the past five weeks, the Second Congregational Church took over handling the meals that the program would ordinarily offer on Wednesdays, and The Salvation Army has offered meals on Tuesdays. But on Wednesday, the Franklin County Community Meals Program’s team returned to the church.
“It’s such a relief,” Spencer said as 58 visitors took a seat at the tables, waiting to get in line for the buffet. “It feels like we had to get a lot accomplished to get to this moment.”
Nancy Boyle and Ninoshka “Nino” Flecha prepare food at Wednesday’s community meal at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Trisha Pecor and Ninoshka “Nino” Flecha prepare food at Wednesday’s community meal at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
Getting on stable footing
During the pause, Spencer, the former head of school at the Greenfield Center School for 15 years, learned the ins and outs of her new role.
“I started to get to know some of the needs of Greenfield,” Spencer said.
Spencer had volunteered with the Franklin County Community Meals Program, and she decided to reach out about joining its board of directors before pivoting to the interim executive director position.
“I think everyone deserves beautiful, delicious food,” Spencer said. “To be fed reliably, it’s a right, and so for me, it just was the most palpable, immediate way to make a difference.”
When she started in April, the organization only had enough money to operate for another month. Since then, Spencer and the board have raised $105,000 toward an annual goal of $180,000 in donor support, earned $96,500 in grants — including a $50,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts — and secured a $70,000 earmark through state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.
As the organization’s finances grew, its staff participated in nutrition, de-escalation, health and safety trainings. They addressed topics like the proper steps for using the opioid overdose reversal medication Narcan, and saving someone from choking, along with the right balance of nutrition for diners recovering from substance use disorders.
The Franklin County Community Meals Program team also analyzed the “flow of service” at the meal sites, as Spencer described, to evaluate logistics, like the number of feasible takeout meals each day in Greenfield.
“I used to be a teacher, and I feel like a kid,” Spencer said of her start as interim executive director. “It’s like learning how to read or learning your times tables — you just have to really be open and curious and not be worried about making mistakes.”
Revival
On Wednesday, the volunteers at the Second Congregational Church served at least 130 plates of parmesan chicken alfredo, vegetable rice, maple ham, sweet potatoes, salad and garlic bread in the buffet line and takeout boxes.
This marked meal site coordinator and cook Ninoshka “Nino” Flecha’s first in Greenfield after running the site in Orange for a few months.
“I love helping the people,” Flecha said, packing an aluminum foil pan with parmesan chicken alfredo. “I want to support everybody.”
To prepare the meal, Flecha and the other volunteers and staff started cooking at 1 p.m. before serving the crowd at 4:45 p.m.
When asked what makes the hours of work worth it, Trisha Pecor, a Franklin County Community Meals Program volunteer, turned to the tables of visitors eating together and said simply, “This.”
Pecor became a volunteer two years ago after stopping by the church every week for a free meal.
“When I finally got my housing situated, I wanted to give back,” she said behind the buffet line.
Pecor described the meals in Greenfield as “something consistent” for the diners.
“It’s good to know that they have a safe place to come to get something to eat, because a lot of the people that come through here don’t have resources for food or they’re struggling to get meals,” Pecor continued. “It’s nice to give them something to go home with.”
The monthly Northfield meal site remains temporarily paused as the team looks into the best avenues for “strengthening and improving,” according to Spencer.
The Franklin County Community Meals Program serves food at the following locations and times:
- Greenfield: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. at the Second Congregational Church, 16 Court Square.
- Turners Falls: Mondays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Peace Church, 90 Seventh St.
- Orange: Mondays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 104 South Main St.
For more information about available community meals, visit fccmp.org/resources.
