400 hungry WMass families fed with donation effort by Price Rite, partners
WEST SPRINGFIELD — There are nights when Kathy Rocco and her husband don't make dinner — they scrounge for it.
'You can always find crackers, or we have a garden, so I can go out and make a salad,' she told The Republican.
The couple was among 400 families that each received a 25-pound box of food, a 15-pound box of personal care items and backpacks filled with school supplies Tuesday on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.
Price Rite Marketplace partnered with Feed the Children, the Boys & Girls Club of West Springfield and the Parish Cupboard to address what organizers said is a widespread, urgent need for help.
'We're here to give them immediate relief. They're stretching their budgets to the brink,' said Joe Allegro, senior director of corporate partnerships for Feed the Children.
Allegro said more than 10% of families in West Springfield live at or below the poverty level. He said each family received $200 worth of products, including food that can be used to make 20 meals for a family of four.
The total giveaway was worth $175,000 and could benefit up to 1,600 people, Allegro said.
Price Rite is based in New Jersey and operates more than 50 grocery stores in the Northeast. The company said it opened its first store in West Springfield 30 years ago and staged the distribution to mark that anniversary.
'We are in a lot of underserved areas, from a food desert perspective. I have a real passion for being in neighborhoods where people really need us,' said company President Kevin McDonnell.
More than 40 Price Rite employees volunteered their time to load tons of food into local residents' cars, SUVs and trucks that drove under a temporary shelter in pouring rain.
Angel Acevedo, a grocery stocker, lifted heavy cases of water and other items into dozens of cars. He witnessed grateful looks on the faces of people he also sees in his store, customers who leave his grocery aisles with less than they want because they don't have the cash.
'Some people purchase half of what they need and leave the store. They have to decide what's more important, and get that,' he said.
The Greater Boston Food Bank reports that food insecurity in Western Massachusetts is higher than it is anywhere else in the commonwealth. The Food Bank said 41% of households here experience food insecurity, compared to 39% and 29% in Central and Eastern Massachusetts, respectively.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts reports 48% of households in Hampden County are facing this problem.
Rocco listened to music on her phone as she waited for her share of groceries. She never thought she would end up in a food line when she retired from nursing a year ago, she said.
'I didn't know things would be this hard at this point in my life. But you can't go back. I just have to do the best I can with what I have. You're either poor or your rich. There's no middle anymore,' she said.
Yolanda Gomez was second in line, taking no chances with missing out on the donated food. She must feed a family of four but said she can't always do it on the disability checks she gets from Social Security.
'I go to a lot of pantries. Today is very helpful. I need food. Sometimes we don't have any,' she said.
Allegro said Feed the Children tries to focus on long-term solutions to poverty and hunger, but relies on emergency giveaways to help people suffering today.
'Everything has been ramped up so high, and their benefits aren't keeping up with inflation. It's going in the wrong direction. We don't know when things will turn, so we're here for the long run,' he said.
Price Rite tries to offer discounts with a no-frills approach to business and stores that have minimal staffing, but the chain's president says containing costs is a constant struggle.
'We look at all of the different inputs that come into our business and react on a daily basis,' said McDonnell. 'It's a fluid business. Every day, every week, every hour you see what your sales are and what your costs are. It's very active. It's never ending.'
Read the original article on MassLive.
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