MA Families Continue to Struggle to Fulfill an Everyday Need

Despite the fact that there has been a bit of a lull in the pandemic, many Massachusetts families continue to struggle to meet everyday needs to the point where tough decisions and priorities have to be made. How do you choose between paying for rent or paying for heat? One everyday need that Massachusetts families continue to struggle to meet is food security.

Make no bones about it, families in Massachusetts are still facing food insecurities. Calling back to an article published by WCVB5 in May of this year, one-in-three Massachusetts families report running out of food or not having enough money to get more food every month, according to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Add to that, I recently spoke with Rees Shad who volunteers at the People's Pantry of Great Barrington and is on the board of the organization. Rees mentioned to me that on the particular day we chatted which was a Thursday, the food pantry wouldn't be opening until 10 am but when he drove by at 8:45 am there was a big line of people outside the pantry waiting to get in. It's that serious.

With the high demand for food in these present times, the People's Pantry continues to struggle to keep food on its shelves. The need has become so great that for the first time in 23 years, the People's Pantry had to start reaching out to the public for assistance by way of partaking in fundraising efforts in 2022. As Beth Moser from the People's Pantry told me a couple of months ago fundraising will now continue to be a part of the pantry's routine of supporting the community and keeping food on its shelves. The 2022 fundraising campaign wasn't a one-off instance. You can get more details regarding how you can donate food or make a monetary donation along with hours and days of the week you can visit the pantry to obtain food yourself by going here.