Page 39 - BusinessWest April 18, 2022

Andrew Morehouse (center) with Big Y CEO Charlie D’Amour (left) and Dennis Duquette, MassMutual Foundation president, when they announced pledges of $1.5 million each to the Food Bank’s capital campaign last year.
well to suddenly increased food-insecurity needs in the first year of the pandemic, Morehouse noted, but by late 2021, many of those expanded safety-net programs were sunsetting, at the same time inflation was sending food prices soaring. “We believe that will lead to another spike in demand for emergency food.”
He intends for the Food Bank of Western Mas- sachusetts to meet that demand locally.
“This brand-new building is designed to maxi- mize the efficiency of the flow of inventory. Over
the last 30 years at our current facility, we’ve been expanding in a very small footprint in any way we can; this new property allows us to maximize efficiency and store more food and move food
in and out more quickly and have more bays to receive food and distribute it quickly.”
And because combating hunger requires mul- tiple lines of attack, Morehouse plans to use the additional space for expanded nutrition educa- tion programs as well, including a large demon- stration kitchen. He also plans to hire more staff.
“We have partnerships with local hospitals and community health centers to address people with food insecurity. We’ll have more staff to help people apply for SNAP benefits and have more community space to accommodate workshops and community events.”
“It’s important to note that more than 50% of the food we distribute is perishable foods, like vegetables and frozen meats. And a lot of
the non-perishable food is very healthy grains, pastas, beans, and nutritious canned food items, low in salt and sugar, for people who don’t have time to cook.”
One of the project funding sources, a Mass- Works grant to the city of Chicopee for site devel- opment, requires the building to have a physi- cal public benefit, Morehouse noted. “So we’ve entered into an easement agreement with the city where our parking lot and community room are available as emergency shelter in the event of a natural disaster.”
Speaking of funding, while the project bud- get is $19 million, the capital campaign aimed to raise $26.3 million, which includes financing, fur-
Michael Lynch
Barbara-Jean Michael James Michael Henry "Hank" Joe Doug
Deloria Moriarty Montemayor Davey Downey Kulig
Gilbert
Our starting lineup.
Our starting lineup.
And stay-with-you lineup.
And stay-with-you lineup.
florencebank.com/business-banking
Member FDIC / Member DIF
BusinessWest
NONPROFITS
APRIL 18, 2022 39