88.5 NEPM Hunger Awareness Week
Learn more about hunger in western Mass. and support the March for the Food Bank.
Hunger affects many different people throughout western Mass. Beginning Nov. 13, 88.5 NEPM’s Hunger Awareness Week will explore stories about hunger in our region to better understand this crisis, the impact it has on our community, and what’s being done to combat it.
It all leads up to the 14th annual March for the Food Bank with The Fabulous 413's Monte Belmonte, Nov. 20-21. The trek is a two-day, 43-mile reminder of what we can achieve when we work together: Monte’s annual march has raised millions for the Food Bank over the years.
Support the March for the Food Bank and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts at marchforthefoodbank.org.
Where's Monte?
Follow along and track the March for the Food Bank as Monte and his fellow marchers walk from Springfield to Greenfield.
88.5 NEPM Hunger Awareness Week coverage
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The nonprofit Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds purchased a stretch of storefronts in Pittsfield. It has converted one into a food pantry where classes and events are held, including dance classes for children and a recent meeting on immigration law. -
We put a bow on the March for the Food Bank 14, and revisit some chef driven farms in our area: The Apple Place in East Longmeadow, and Grown Up Farm in Belchertown -
The Massachusetts Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey last week quietly restored a policy to offer state-funded food benefits for immigrants who are in the U.S. legally, but who are not citizens. -
The March for the Food Bank continues on its second, longer, and far more uphill journey to combat hunger. -
Monte begins his march to Greenfield in support of the work of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts helming the March for The Food Bank 14 and speaks with a bevvy of folx on the importance of combating hunger everywhere. -
The United Way of Pioneer Valley and Holyoke Community College joined together to create the Holyoke Community Cupboard. -
Live music from Tubachristmas and The Basement Cats, honoring the Reverend Peter Ives and costuming at Swanson's Fabrics -
We mcgovern straight into the March for the Food Bank 14 with Rep. Jim McGovern who walks the whole way, discover another hidden population of hungry folx: students at public colleges, and speak with multi-instrumentalist Corn Mo. -
We chat with The Word Nerd about food words as the march for the foor bank approaches, hear a bit from beloved children's book author and musician Mister G about his upcoming free show on Nov. 18, and get a peek at what the folx at the Parlor Room Collective have in store for the future of The Iron Horse. -
For Hunger Awareness Week, and to gear up for the March for The Food Bank, we sit down with some folx addressing hunger right here in Springfield: Shannon Ruddle of Martin Luther King Jr. Services and Liz O'Gilvie of Gardening the Community and Springfield Food Policy Council, plus we find out how to pivot from dairy to skin care with the goats of Joe and Stan McCoy at Sage Meadow Farm in Easthampton -
We chat with Amanda Freeman, Marissa Chiapperino, Franchezka Bermudez about changing policy and making bureaucracy easier to navigate in the 413, Discover the century of history nestled in Great Barrington at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, and Mr. Universe tackles issues both terrestrial and cosmic. -
We get a jump on Hunger Awareness Week by chatting with Lev Ben Ezra of the Amherst Survival Center, and Executive chef of Stone Soup Cafe Kirsten Levitt, have Live Music Friday with Forest Alley String Band before they play a benefit for Stone Soup Cafe this weekend, heavily allude to a way you can help alleviate hunger and still enjoy some wine during our Tina Turner Memorial Wine Thunderdome at State Street Deli, Wine & Spirits, and go totally tuber with Diane Swazlowski-Mullins of Swaz Potato Farms.
