Goodwill Helps Us Get Food Orders
Transportation
is always a major issue when you’re dealing with food distribution. We are
happy that one local organization is helping us and several other programs with
this.
We’d like to
thank Goodwill of the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. For the last few weeks
and all the way through June, the Goodwill truck will be picking up our food
order every week at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Hatfield.
Ordinarily, we rent a U-Haul truck every week and drive it to the Food Bank and
back. So this saves us money and time. The size of their truck also allows us
to get more food, without having to send a second truck to Hatfield.
On Friday,
May 1, the truck brought in our order of 6,397 lbs. of food!
Through this
arrangement, Goodwill is also helping several of our fellow programs. These
include the Berkshire Food Project, Louison House, the Community Bible Church
and the Williamstown Food Pantry.
Adams Center Pantry Reopening
We have
official confirmation that the food pantry in Adams is reopening this
Wednesday, May 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those in line at 1 p.m. will be
served. See photo of the sign below for more information. The Center Food
Pantry is located on Route 8 in downtown Adams, in the basement of St. Thomas
Church. The door is on the Route 8 side at street level and is located across
from the end of Hoosac Street and the Berkshire Mill Apartments and diagonally
across the street from Chee’s.
Though we
never turn away anyone who comes to us for food, we ask that those from Adams,
Cheshire and Savoy use the Adams pantry in the future. It has been our pleasure
to serve you in recent weeks.
Measuring the Increase of Need
We have been
serving more households since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the
increase has not been as dramatic as in other areas of the country. In March
2019 we served an average of 121 households per week. This year in March, as
the pandemic came to the forefront, we stayed about the same in household
visits, with an average of 122 per week.
In April, at
our new temporary location at the St. Elizabeth Parish Center, we have seen
about a 10 percent increase in visits. In April 2019 we averaged 121 household
visits per week. This year this has increased to an average of 133 visits per
week.
One main
reason why we have not seen a dramatic increase is that Northern Berkshire has
been so great in pulling together to provide additional food resources. This
includes our public schools. Following is just a partial list of the food
opportunities available.
Other Local Food Sources
Food Pantries
The Community Bible Church Food Pantry,
160 Bridges Road, Williamstown, has food and are more than willing to
distribute it. They are open to give out food every day. Just call
Phyllis Babcock at 413-663-6094 and she will meet you at church at your
convenience.
Williamstown Food Pantry at St Raphaels & St Patrick Church, Wednesdays, 9:30-12 at 53
Southworth St. Enter the church grounds from the Mission Park Drive entrance
north of the church and exit onto Southworth Street. Drive Thru method, do not get out of the car. For information
call: 413-458-4946, ext. 1.
Mobile Food Bank
The Mobile Food Bank
of the Food Bank of Western Mass comes regularly to Adams and North Adams. On
the second and fourth Tuesday of each month it comes to the Adams Council on
Aging, 3 Hoosac St. in Adams, from 10 to 11 a.m. On the first and third Friday
of each month, it comes to the North Adams American Legion, 91 American Legion
Drive, from 10 to 11 a.m.
Meal Site
Berkshire Food Project-Monday,
Wednesday and Friday-11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Grab and Go Lunch. Pick up is outside
under the tent at kitchen door entrance.
Local Farm Food
The North Adams Farmers Market is online and mobile. Delivering to North County ONLY. A limited amount
of orders will be taken Monday during
Grab and Go Lunch Distribution at the Berkshire Food Project, 11:30-1 or Wednesday at the Al Nelson Friendship Food Pantry at
St. Elizabeth’s Parish. Delivery will be on Friday and Saturday. You can use credit
card and debit orders if you would like to order online.
EBT payments will be
accepted in person during the pre-order opportunities, and doubling up to $30
in benefits. Orders will be taken in person and payments must be made in person
upon delivery. There will be FREE delivery for EBT customers. This was made
possible by a grant from the Berkshire United Way's COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Berkshire County.
For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/NorthAdamsFarmersMarket/ For Questions Call: 413-664-6180 or Email: tourism@northadams-ma.gov
Community
Coalition Weekend Meal Delivery Program
This is a new
program paid for through the Berkshire County
COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to coordinate a weekend meal delivery service
through from local restaurants to those community members who are currently
unable to leave their homes and unable to access food on the weekend. This
initiative is open to people who reside in any one of the seven north
Berkshire towns (Williamstown, North Adams, Clarksburg, Florida, Adams,
Cheshire, and Savoy). At this time, they have budgeted for 150 meals for each
weekend.
This program is intended to reach individuals
and families with no other access to food resources on weekends. They
strive to reach those families and individuals who are not already connected
with a food pantry or meal program.
Organizers ask interested participants what food
resources they are already accessing in order to avoid any duplication of
efforts and so that they can expand the community's ability to provide for
vulnerable populations.
If you know of any
individual who is in need of food on the weekend because they are
dependent on food delivery services at this time, provide them with the Coalition main phone number, 413-663-7588. Coalition staff will be taking phone calls Monday
through Friday, 9 a.m.to 3 p.m. Orders for weekend delivery will be placed on Fridays
at 3 p.m. and deliveries will be coordinated for Saturday at a designated
time.
This program is free of charge, as the Northern Berkshire Community
Coalition uses the funds it was awarded by the COVID-19
Emergency Response Fund to compensate both the restaurant and the delivery driver for
their service.
Dick Netherwood and Frank Risati, both wearing masks, get to work unwrapping and shelving a pallet of food from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, on Friday, May 5.
Thanks for Contributions and Offers to Volunteer
Above is a
very impressive list of groups and organizations doing their best to help in
this difficult time. It’s not only groups, however, who are helping so much.
Since the start of this pandemic, we have received dozens of monetary donations
from individuals, and almost as many offers to volunteer. We are grateful and
appreciate all of them.
We have not
to this point been able to utilize all of the volunteers who have offered, but
we greatly appreciate them answering our call. We do not think this pandemic is
going to be over soon, and when it mercifully is over there will still be lots of
people in need. So we foresee many opportunities to help going forward. The
first people we contact as new needs for help arise will be those who have already
volunteered to help. Again, thank you!
New State Order on Masks
We here pass
along information about the state order regarding wearing masks in public. All
volunteers with our food pantry began wearing masks or face coverings while here two weeks ago. Though cloth face coverings are
best for preventing one from giving COVID-19 to another, studies show that
when two people interacting are both wearing masks the possibility of virus transmission goes
way down. Though our food distribution is outside, we greatly appreciate it
when our visiting friends are wearing a face covering.
With that
said, here is more information from the Northern Berkshire COVID 19 Operations
Center:
Per the Governor's
order, face coverings are being required when entering stores and on public
transportation starting on May 6th in order to help deter the spread of
COVID19 and protect the health of our friends, neighbors and families.The requirement applies to all workers and customers of
businesses and other organizations that are open to the public. Below is the
link for today's press release:
Don't worry if you cannot find masks online or in stores. There are
any number of ways to make effective face coverings from materials you already
have in your home such as scarves, bandanas, and old clothing.
The link to the CDC
recommendation and instructions on how to make a face covering from household
items is included below:
For additional
information:
Help spread the word. If
you have questions or have trouble finding information, contact the North Berkshire
Operations Center at 413-662-3614 or by email at nbcovid@gmail.com.
If you cannot find or make a mask, let us or the Operations Center know and we can probably find one for you.
If you cannot find or make a mask, let us or the Operations Center know and we can probably find one for you.
Who We Are
As so many
people are new to us, and we to them, during this pandemic, a few words about
who we are.
The Northern
Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative Inc., the parent organization of the Al
Nelson Friendship Center, is a 501c3 non-profit organization. We were founded
ten years ago as a group of people from various faiths and denominations
working with others of good will to serve our community.
The
Friendship Center Food Pantry opened on Eagle Street in North Adams in February
2011. It has been an all-volunteer operation since its inception and is
considered a model program by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
It was named
the Friendship Center because we consider those we serve with our food pantry, and associated services, as friends, not clients. The name Al Nelson was added in 2018 after the passing
of our beloved co-founder, Arlon “Al” Nelson. More information about us and our
history can be found on this blog.
Our mailing
address is PO Box 626 North Adams, MA 01247. Phone: 413-664-0123. Email: northernberkshireinterfaith@gmail.com.
Website: https://friendshipfoodpantry.org/
Thanks and
God Bless,
Mark
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