NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Bounty opened new cold storage units at the North Adams Campus of Berkshire Medical Center in a collaboration with Berkshire Health Systems.

 

This project, funded by the state through the Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program, is part of a countywide effort to strengthen the local and regional food system through a collaborative effort, which will expand local food production, storage and delivery systems that bring fresh and healthy locally grown food to the food insecure community.

 

"Berkshire Bounty works closely with Berkshire Grown and several other community organizations to implement a robust, resilient layer within the regional food system that provides an essential link between farmers and food access organizations and moves healthy food from farm to table. We have proven this system is sustainable and can withstand ongoing food system challenges. This cold storage facility is a necessary component to addressing food system gaps in North Berkshire County," states Morgan Ovitsky, Executive Director of Berkshire Bounty, a 501(c)3 food rescue organization.

 

A cold storage facility will act as a depot for local farmers to deliver meat, dairy, eggs and produce to a central location where it will be aggregated, stored, and delivered to participating food distribution organization partners in North Adams, Adams, Williamstown and surrounding towns. This project will also provide safe cold storage for North Berkshire food distribution sites in desperate need of additional storage for fresh, healthy products.

 

"Our pantry is small and has no more additional space for refrigeration. We welcome the option of overflow storage to increase our capacity to distribute more food to our friends in North Adams, Clarksburg and Florida." said Fran Berasi, Vice President of the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry.

                                          

The location of the facility, behind the North Adams campus of Berkshire Medical Center, is through a partnership with BHS to provide a secure source of power and safe access. BHS is hosting and providing the cost of powering the storage units.

 

"Food security is a major health challenge that impacts families in North Berkshire and across the region," said Darlene Rodowicz, President and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. "At BHS, we know that much of a person's overall health is impacted by conditions that exist beyond the four walls of a healthcare facility-- like their availability to access nutritious food or safe, affordable housing.  We are thrilled to be able to partner with Berkshire Bounty as part of our mission to advance health and wellness of everyone in our community by helping to create this new food storage location that will expand access to fresh, healthy food for residents of North County."