This year, four Berkshire restaurants received over $68,000 to cook food for those in need.
The funds are from the MassDevelopment’s Food Insecurity Grant Program for Independent Restaurants. The award was part of $900,000 distributed to 31 restaurants statewide.
In Pittsfield, BB’s Hot Spot, Marie’s North Street Eatery and Mazzeo’s Ristorante received $11,420, $13,000 and $10,000, respectively. The largest share went to Bigg Daddy’s in North Adams, which received $34,200.
The money enabled local restaurants to prepare meals that they delivered to food banks, pantries, senior centers, schools and emergency food distribution sites. Restaurants applied after MassDevelopment invited them for the grant. They were then paired with local food pantries.
According to Franklin County Community Development Corp. Program Manager Hannah Sobel, the program delivered almost 45,000 meals across western Massachusetts.
“I’m happy to do so to make sure people are fed,” said BB’s Hot Spot owner Ronny Brizan.
This program comes at a time of uncertainty for the future of fighting food insecurity, amid heightened concerns over the rising cost of living. Federal funding cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could increase food insecurity across the U.S., placing more responsibility on states to fill the gap.
The current government shutdown could also affect funding for SNAP benefits in the coming months.
According to a survey from the Greater Boston Food Bank, 39 percent of households in Berkshire County faced food insecurity in 2024. The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts assisted an average of about 25,000 people per month that year. More than 40 food pantries and meal sites operate in the Berkshires.
“It’s closer to home than you think. There are people in your community who struggle to put food on their table, whether you call it food insecurity, call it whatever you like. But they’re struggling to feed themselves. And they are working people, they’re senior citizens, they’re children,” said Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Executive Director Andrew Morehouse.
Changes to SNAP will increase eligibility requirements that people need to meet to qualify for the benefits, going into effect sometime this year. Morehouse said the changes will include increased work requirements which could affect those who can’t get work due to disabilities, transportation access or systemic inequities.
“We’re very concerned. SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in the country,” he said.
The loss of benefits will likely drive more people to seek assistance from food pantries, Morehouse said, adding this surge could put food banks under a lot of pressure to meet heightened demand. In addition, the federal government discontinued an annual national survey that food banks previously used to assess food insecurity across the country.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts moved to a larger facility two years ago, and Morehouse said the additional staff and equipment have helped staff meet heightened demand during periods of increased need.
For now, SNAP benefits for the month of October are protected. A longer shutdown could eventually affect SNAP, and it is already affecting other federally funded programs.
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, said the state is committed to keeping Massachusetts’ four food banks running. She added that with programs like MassDevelopment’s, she always wants to make sure funding reaches as far west as Berkshire County.
“Things are difficult in this world right now, and then we see some little bright spots,” said Farley-Bouvier. “I don’t think any one of these things is the answer to it all, but isn’t it great that we have a way that we can make differences here and there.”