Berkshire County — Local food suppliers scrambled to help community members in need on October 31, the last day that federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would be fully available due to the federal government shutdown forcing the freeze of such payments. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget.
An Associated Press report late on October 31 stated two federal judges—including one in Massachusetts—ruled that the federal administration “must continue to fund SNAP … using [the program’s] contingency funds during the government shutdown.” However, that ruling “gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November,” a decision that the program’s administrator, the United States Department of Agriculture, does not have to make until the end of the day on November 3.
The slated November 1 curtailment of those benefits is set to affect more than a million Massachusetts residents, mostly children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities who depend on the food-assistance program for survival, with one out of every six Commonwealth citizens “at immediate risk of hunger.”
What can we expect from the cancellation, in whole or in part, of SNAP benefits in Berkshire County?
According to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, 45 percent of Berkshire County residents are food insecure, an 86 percent increase in the area’s food insecurity rate since 2021. The Berkshire United Way counts more than 22,000 children and adults within the region who stand to lose their SNAP benefits and is currently raising monies to assist the program’s members. “We are working closely with other organizations to respond to this food emergency and find solutions to mitigate the impact it will have on nearly 20 percent of our Berkshire neighbors,” stated an October 31 news release from the agency.
With these numbers, local and regional food banks and pantries stand at the ready. That list can be found here.
But those entities have already seen an influx of customers, who come from a place of “scarcity and fear,” said Berkshire Bounty Executive Director Morgan Ovitsky following an October 31 meeting with several food pantry personnel. Ovitsky’s group provides food—donated and purchased—to the food-assistance network, including food pantries, so they can meet the needs of those seeking assistance.
“What the food pantries are already seeing is a surge in people at their doors because there’s a fear that when their SNAP benefits are cut off, they’re not going to be able to access food,” Ovitsky said. “The food pantry network is already struggling to meet the need.”
Ovitsky said expectations are for “an enormous surge” after the SNAP benefits end as anticipated tomorrow, as well as long lines for food pantries. “We are expecting there not to be as much food variety or as much food that people can walk away with,” she said. The conversations around food pantries now are focused on how to place limits on types of food, she said, such as offering only one fruit instead of a bunch of bananas “so that everybody coming to the door can get some but [the pantry will] not run out of food.”
At 8 a.m. on the morning of October 31, Berkshire Bounty put out a call for volunteers, and by 10 a.m., the call was answered by 20 individuals who assembled boxes of food in a partnership with Head Start whose families regularly use SNAP benefits. Most of the food pantries and sites are looking for volunteers, and all types of programs will need more funding to replace the shortfall left by the cancellation of SNAP benefits, Ovitsky said. The top request for Berkshire Bounty organizations is for grocery store gift cards to assist large families or residents who have mobility or other limitations that impede access to the food pantry. “Food, money, and gift cards,” Ovitsky said of how Berkshire residents can help during this stressful time.
To volunteer, visit Berkshire Bounty’s website and click the “Volunteer” and “Registration” tabs. For those in need of food, program eligibility and resource information can also be found at that website.
“Berkshire County is amazing; we saw it during the pandemic, and we’re seeing it now,” Ovitsky said.
Berkshire grocery stores step up
Guido’s Fresh Marketplace is dedicating its remaining 2025 “Roundup Give with Guido’s” funds to support local food-distribution programs: Price Memorial A.M.E. Zion, The Dream Center, South Congregational Church, St. Stephens Episcopal Church, and First United Methodist Church in Pittsfield and The People’s Pantry and Construct in Great Barrington. The grocer’s program involves patrons donating a “round up” of their purchases to an even amount from its two stores. Although the program donations are devoted annually each November and December to food-insecure communities, Guido’s is also chipping in $10,000 over the funds raised to support the seven institutions.
“Like so many other area businesses, we’ve been trying to figure out a way to ease the stress on folks who are looking at a possible gap in their SNAP benefits,” Marketing & Communications Director Alana Chernila told The Berkshire Edge.
Initially, the Guido’s management team had released a communication whereby the business would offer a discount on groceries for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card holders. EBT electronically allows a SNAP participant to pay for food using SNAP funds. However, a message sent from the United States Department of Agriculture nixed that program as violative of some of its retail policies surrounding the EBT and SNAP benefit projects, forcing the grocery group to rethink its assistance method.
“These are scary times for folks, and we were really looking for a way that we could ease it a little bit,” Chernila said. “We are actively trying to figure out other ways to support folks right now so there are a lot of conversations happening.”
Berkshire Food Co-op’s Community Discount program has historically offered a 10 percent discount on almost everything in the store for qualified shoppers, including those receiving SNAP benefits, and that program will continue. However, following the SNAP termination announcement, the Co-op is encouraging patrons to include an additional plate or pie to their Heat & Feast Thanksgiving pre-order program as a donation to a person or family “who needs a little extra help with Thanksgiving this year,” Brand Coordinator Devorah Sawyer said, adding that anyone can request the donated meal without proof of need. The grocer has also distributed more collection boxes for food donations to Great Barrington’s People’s Pantry and will be announcing at least one other donation-based assistance program during the first week of November.
“We’re grateful for the community we are a part of, and we are here to support our friends and neighbors through whatever life throws at us,” Sawyer said. “We know these interruptions will make it hard to afford groceries and essentials for shoppers, staff, and community members alike, and with food access central to our mission, we want to ensure that everyone feels seen, supported, and welcome.”
With locations in Lenox and West Stockbridge, Loeb’s Foodtown co-owner Bernie Fallon assured his patronage that they will be accommodated. “We’re following the SNAP situation closely, listening to our customers, and while it’s still early to know how things will unfold, each of our customers will be taken care of,” Fallon said. “Thankfully, our focus remains the same—no matter what’s thrown our way.”
Although not a grocery, a shop that sells bread provides basic sustenance, a staple food, for its customers. Pittsfield Rye & Specialty Breads is offering additional products—a loaf of bread or rolls—with any purchase at its Pittsfield store, 1010 South Street. The shop is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“It’s always about paying it forward and helping those if you can,” said Rick Robbins, who is the business’ third-generation co-owner along with his wife Renee Robbins. “Our family decided we’d like to do a little something too.”
Opened in 1929 by Robbins’ grandfather, the Pittsfield staple originated at East and Elm streets.
“It’s about trying to help people as best as you can,” Rick Robbins said. “If there’s people in the community that need a little help, we’re glad to be here to help them.”
A large response to a small post
In response to Stockbridge resident Patrick White’s October 29 Letter to the Editor in The Berkshire Edge calling for municipal initiatives to provide a gap to the impending food-assistance shortfall, an anonymous donor contributed $20,000 within 24 hours, enough funds to provide 100 $200 gift cards to local groceries for affected folks. According to White, the First Congregational Church, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge, will serve as custodian for the funds and its officials have developed a protocol for distributing the cards beginning the first week in November. He also cites the support of Stockbridge Town Administrator Michael Canales and Council on Aging Director Katie Szwyd who helped coordinate the endeavor.
“I am so proud of my little town,” White said. “Stockbridge and the people who live and work here really are amazing. They say, ‘It takes a village.’ This village epitomizes that sentiment.”
Local businesses, centers respond
The Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road, Great Barrington, is offering a free community supper program from 5 to 6 p.m. every Monday, beginning November 3.
Hand Crafted Catering will provide meals to those in need at 26 Dunham Mall, Pittsfield. For details, email hello@handcraftednyc.com or text (413) 358-7893.
Big Daddy’s Philly Steak House, 2601 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, is offering a free meal every Monday (mini cheesesteak, fries) and Thursday (hot dog, fries) for children ages 18 years old and under.
New Lebanon Farmers Market, 528 Route 20, New Lebanon, NY, is offering SNAP beneficiaries $20 of free food and up to $20 of food priced at a 33 percent discount weekly for valid EBT card holders.
Berkshire Mountain Bakery held a Dine to Donate fundraiser on October 31 at its Housatonic location, with a portion of the sales going towards funding the SNAP matching program of Berkshire Agricultural Ventures.
