Food Bank to Honor Community Leaders, Partners at Open House on June 17

CHICOPEE — The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts will host its second annual Honoring Community Impact Open House on Wednesday, June 17 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at 25 Carew St., Chicopee. The event will celebrate individuals and organizations whose leadership, generosity, and commitment have strengthened efforts to address food insecurity across the region.

The 2026 Community Impact Award recipients are:

• Stop & Shop: Nourishing Impact Award for decades of food and financial support, including nearly 869,000 pounds of food donated in 2025;

• Ed Malachowski: Volunteer Impact Award for his outstanding service as a Food Bank farm volunteer and event volunteer;

• Monte Belmonte: Community-Led Impact Award for creating and growing the March for the Food Bank, which raised more than $950,000 in 2025; and

• Pastor Doyle St. Louis: Person of Impact Award for nearly three decades of leadership expanding food assistance through All Nations Church in Springfield.

The Open House will also feature food and beverage tastings from local businesses and organizations across all four counties of Western Mass., including Berkshire Brewing Co., Berkshire Mountain Distillers, the Brewery at Four Star Farms, Custom Cookie Concepts, Coquito Chukito, Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee, Glendale Ridge Vineyard, Libretto Café, and Stone Soup Café.

Guests will have an opportunity to connect with Food Bank staff and supporters, learn more about the organization’s work, and celebrate the collective impact of communities coming together to end hunger.