The Food Bank Of Western Massachusetts Inc

Support for local food providers: the food bank offered technical support, professional workshops on fundraising, volunteer management, and trainings in food safety to member food providers. It also provided capacity-building activities for members with the goal of helping them increase efficiency and the amount of food distributed. To carry out this program, the following services/trainings were provided:(1) institute trainings for members in areas such as, fundraising, volunteer management, advocacy, disaster planning, and best practices.(2) network coalition meetings that strengthened the food assistance network in western massachusetts by periodically bringing members together to receive updates from both the food bank and feeding america, and allowing these organizations to network with each other, as well as to learn about best practices.(3) snap outreach and enrollment educated community members about snap (formerly food stamps) and assisted potentially eligible individuals through the application process. In fy 24 the food bank submitted for approval 908 applications to the massachusetts department of transitional assistance with a 64% approval rate.(4) provided small capacity building grants to assist members provide more food to their guests.(5)food assistance navigation provided food assistance to 585 individuals referred through masshealth programs and 487 individuals referred by other providers.

Nutrition education: provided workshops and materials to both participants and staff of the food assitance network to educate people to eat healthier on a limited budget, including supermarket tours for people to learn how to shop on a budget, read nutrition labels, and understand unit pricing.

The food bank staff and volunteers screen individuals for eligibility and assist them with the snap application process, including case management.