GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Bounty announced the award of a $15,000 grant from Fallon Health's Annual Community Impact Grants program for our Food Purchase Program.

 

"We have a responsibility to the communities we serve to enable them as they navigate the complexities of

health care due to barriers including the social determinants of health," said Richard Burke, President and CEO of Fallon Health, a nationally recognized not-for-profit health care services organization. "The Community Impact Grants will help provide valuable resources at a grass roots level to those who need it most. We applaud our partners at Berkshire Bounty for the important work they are doing which is also closely aligned with Fallon Health's mission."

 

This grant comes at a time when food insecurity rates continue to increase in our region. 

 

"We continue to see a strong demand for fresh, nutritious food from the community in need and Berkshire Bounty has the infrastructure in place to meet this need," said Morgan Ovitsky, Executive Director.

 

According to a press release, Berkshire Bounty's emergency food site partners consistently report increasing numbers of people requesting food assistance and the need for more food to meet the growing demand. St. Joseph's Food Pantry in Pittsfield reports seeing an average of 10 new families each week. The Berkshire Food Project in North Adams reported doubling their meal service in April. Increases have been ongoing since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, growing because of inflation and the end of federal stimulus benefits. Colder temperatures present additional barriers which reduce access to nutritious food by vulnerable populations.

 

"We are so grateful to Fallon Health for this funding, which will be used for food purchases and for the

implementation of the Food Purchase Program, a cornerstone Berkshire Bounty program which allows us to

increase the amount of food distributed to emergency food sites in the Berkshires," said Mark Lefenfeld and Jay Weintraub, co-Founders and co-Chairs of the Berkshire Bounty board.