Page 20 - BusinessWest January 22, 2024

Andrew Morehouse (center) with Big Y President and CEO Charlie D’Amour (left) and Dennis Duquette, MassMutual Foundation president, when they announced large pledges to the Food Bank’s capital campaign in 2021.
announcing a large donation in 2021. “With everything we’re hear- ing these days about the shortage of food and the high expense of food ... the need is real out there,” he said. “As a community partner, we care deeply about the sustainability of our communities and the
people who live in them.”
What they were acknowledging
was a nonprofit that has been entre- preneurial in its efforts to tackle a widening problem.
“We’re very much like a for-profit business to the extent that we have overhead, we have trucks, we have inventory, and we have staff,” More- house said, noting that the Food Bank doesn’t have customers, exactly, but it does have key stakeholders, from the households facing insecurity to the meal sites and shelters that receive 85% of those distributions,
to the federal and state agencies that pay for the food. “We have an obliga- tion to those agencies to ensure that we’re delivering on our agreement with them.”
In addition, the Food Bank main- tains contracts with the Depart-
ment of Transitional Assistance to provide SNAP assistance and with MassHealth to provide food assis- tance to individuals who have chronic illnesses and are referred from hospi-
tals and community health centers.
While the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic marked
times of spiking need, that need never goes away, although it does fluctuate, Morehouse said.
“Inflation is coming down, and that might help ... but folks are still struggling,” he added. “And, you know, we’re here to help them, give them a hand up.”
And at a higher level than ever before, thanks to an ambitious goal, some very entrepreneurial thinking, and a lot of community support. BW
“We’re all trying to figure it out and find a way
to help people lead healthy, productive lives.”
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