Food Bank offers struggling persons an affordable alternative

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is not your typical grocery store experience. Gone are the tiled floors, the background music to add ambiance, the perfectly organized and visually appealing products and the overall typical grocery store atmosphere.

Instead, what awaits shoppers is a factory-like setting, with most products resting in cardboard boxes, a concrete floor, and a gray wall surrounding the area. But for many people in Western Massachusetts, this place is one of their only options for food.

Located in Hatfield, the Food Bank, which is one of 200 in the country, is a charitable organization that offers food at drastically reduced prices compared to those in most stores. Molly Coon, the education coordinator of the Food Bank said a problem with many stores in today's society are that they are inconveniently placed and too expensive.

“Obesity is an issue that we are trying to factor in, because when a store is too far away from a person, their only options are the cheap things in convenience stores that are bad for your health,” she said.

The Food bank is able to offer items at such a lower price because they are generally donated from several organizations. This includes overstock from stores, items that didn't sell well when they fist came out, as well as contributions from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program.

As well as the reduced prices, the Food Bank also reaches out to people who are in pure need, and can't afford to feed themselves.

According to foodbankwma.org, “We partner with more than 400 local food pantries, meal sites, shelters, residential programs, and youth and elder care centers to bring at 7.6 million pounds of food to more than 108,000 people facing hunger across the diverse urban and rural communities in Western Massachusetts each year.”

Shelves are lined with cardboard boxes stocked with
products available for customers to buy.

Items that the Food Bank receives also depends on basic need for the product.

“We have deals with certain distributors to buy specific items in bulk for very cheap prices, such as toilet paper or paper towels,” said Coon.

Coon also added that the holiday season has been especially rough this year because people are coming often for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Besides the shopping aspects of the Food Bank, staff members are also working to help educate and fight against a battle against hunger.

According to their website, “As part of a growing education program, we work with schools, local organizations and businesses, and individuals to educate our community about local and national hunger and how people can get involved in efforts to reduce hunger in Western Massachusetts.”

The Food Bank is currently holding a Check-Out-Hunger Campaign. People may purchase a donation to the Food Bank in increments of $1, $3 and $5. Students who are interested in volunteering may contact the Food Bank to organize an internship as well.