Great Barrington — As part of an ongoing effort to support individuals facing food insecurity, an incentive is underway in conjunction with The People’s Pantry—one conceived of by a dedicated group of English- and Spanish-speaking customers who have organized a raffle, gathered prizes, and spent the past two months selling $5 tickets throughout the community. To date, they have raised almost $4,000—proceeds which will go toward filling the proverbial bag in the aptly named Help-Fill-The-Bag fundraiser—and the drawing will be held Monday, October 24 at 3:30 p.m. on the lawn at Saint James Place.
“The need at the food pantry has increased 600 fold since COVID, and the pantry has engaged in a fundraising campaign to try to counter the consequent rise in costs,” said Mary Anne Grammer, a food pantry volunteer and member of Grace Church, who underscored the raffle’s genesis as stemming from customers’ “determination to be part of the solution to [food] scarcity in our County.”
Four months ago, when The People’s Pantry Board of Directors decided to tap the local community for support to stay afloat, their goal of $300,000 seemed a distant—if not unattainable—dream. Since announcing the Help-Fill-The-Bag fundraiser, neighbors have turned out in droves to support fellow neighbors to the whopping tune of more than $200,000.
The Rev. Cristina Rathbone, and several of her congregants from Grace Church, have been at the helm of an informal effort to facilitate community members getting to know one another. “We have been spending time with the people who use the pantry every Monday for the past several months, and we intend to keep doing that,” she said of a highlight in her week. When shoppers learned of the fundraiser, they immediately wanted to help out. Upon the realization that money isn’t our greatest gift in this community, they set to work organizing a raffle and gathering prizes—“or making, baking, or sculpting them—[dependent] upon their [respective] skill set,” said Rathbone.
In a recent letter to the editor, the group made their motive clear: “The People’s Pantry has been such a gift for us. Now they are in need, and we want to be there for them.” Raffle prizes include a trip for five in a private airplane over the Berkshires; a horse riding lesson; $100 gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants; freshly baked cakes, cookies, and all kinds of delicious desserts from local chefs and bakeries; y más!
While a majority of the gifts received to date have been from individual donors (and less than $200), several large grants and donations have helped the Pantry inch closer to their goal: Lee Bank gave $1,000 in September, and local restaurateurs raised over $900 at what they hope will be the first annual Great Barrington kickball tournament—which, in its debut, featured teams from Momma Lo’s BBQ, Roberto’s Pizzeria, The Miller Pub, and Railroad Street Youth Project. Elder Services of Berkshire County recently donated $5,000 to the cause and Pulling for the Pantry, a collaboration of several local musicians brought in over $6,000 at a late-September show; late last week, a $25,000 donation was received from the Green Foundation.
“The goal of our fundraiser has been to raise funds to help us prepare for the coming year’s projected expenses,” said Vice President of The People’s Pantry Board Rees Shad in a recent email update outlining 2022 expenses which “had skyrocketed and were beginning to overwhelm us.” At present, the Pantry helps feed around 450 individuals a week—a figure close to four times the number being fed pre-pandemic—thanks to a group of active and dedicated volunteers and a lone part-time paid employee working 10 hours a week. While the physical facilities, located at Saint James Place, are donated, Shad underscored the task at hand: “Continuing to address food insecurity comes at an ever-increasing cost,” he said, as evidenced by the nonprofit’s dramatic rise in expenses. “Our operating budget increased by 500% between 2018 and 2021, and in recent months the cost of doing our important work has increased even more,” he said.
Monday’s event, hosted by those who organized the raffle, will be a celebration of abundance, of giving back and community. In addition to free hot dogs and balloons, The People’s Pantry Board will be present—along with representatives from the Berkshire Food Co-op and other local businesses who have stepped up to support the fundraising efforts—to receive the gathered donation and draw winners in the raffle.
“All funds received will help us in our mission to create an environment that contributes to the building of healthy lives for individuals and families in order to strengthen our entire community,” said Shad. In doing their part, The People’s Pantry purchases locally sourced food whenever possible which, by extension, contributes to the local agricultural economy, reduces environmental impact in terms of transportation, and helps preserve open spaces in Berkshire and neighboring counties. Donate today and contribute to the well-being of both our neighbors as well as our neighborhood.
