Berkshire Bounty’s Spring Campaign Addresses Pressing Community Needs

GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire Bounty, a 501(c)(3) food access organization, will conduct a crowdfunding campaign on June 9-15 to raise funds and address urgent and growing community needs.

“With cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and increasing food costs, food insecurity rates continue to rise in Berkshire County. We get calls almost every day for more food,” said Morgan Ovitsky, executive director.

The “Spring Forward for Food Security” campaign aims to raise $75,000 for Berkshire Bounty. According to the Greater Boston Food Bank’s statewide food access survey and report, 39% of households in Berkshire County reported food insecurity in 2024, comparable to more than one in three households across Massachusetts.

While donations support day-to-day operations, Berkshire Bounty is focused on helping to fund these programs:

• Food Box Project: a collaboration with the Southern Berkshire and Berkshire Hills regional school districts and Berkshire County Head Start. These partners participate in the Food Box Project because the number of people in their service areas who face barriers to accessing feeding assistance programs is increasing.

• Farm to Food Access (F2FA): a partnership with Berkshire Grown to purchase and distribute food from local farmers designated as ‘socially disadvantaged’ to feeding assistance programs. Berkshire Bounty made a commitment to additional fundraising for F2FA, following the cessation of federal support for it.

“We’ve seen significant increases in the volume of participants in our programs,” said Mark Lefenfeld and Jay Weintraub, co-founders and board members. “Our fundraising allows us to serve our community.”

“Spring Forward for Food Security” is aided by the Donald C. McGraw Foundation, the Black Rock Foundation, and the Gilson Family Foundation, offering a $30,000 match, as well as a donation from Warrior Trading.

Donations can be made online by clicking here. For more information or to inquire about making a donation, email Sara Haimowitz, Berkshire Bounty’s director of Development, at [email protected].