In the News

SPRINGFIELD — Families picking up weekly food boxes from Oasis Food Pantry in Springfield received gallons of milk along with their fresh produce and meat Friday.

“This is really great for our families. We try to always provide fresh fruit and produce as well as meat and fresh eggs when we can. The milk is so appreciated," said Angela Foley-Powers, director of the food pantry which has been providing free food to residents in Springfield and surrounding communities for more than five years.

The food comes from The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, as well as 90 Meat Outlet and C&S Wholesale Grocers. The 3,000 gallons of milk was donated by Vanguard Renewables, state Rep. Shawn Dooley, R-Norfolk, and H.P. Hood.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield stopped by Springfield Central High School Friday, where the weekly food pantry is set up, to help load the food and milk into cars and thank volunteers for their efforts.

“See these people coming through, but for you there may not have been a meal tonight and I want to thank you,” he said to volunteers as a line of cars came through the high school parking lot.

The need has increased greatly since the coronavirus pandemic has left many people without employment.

“We went from serving about 500 families a week to 3,000,” Foley-Powers said. “We get between 80-100 volunteers every week and it’s because of them and donations like this one that we can provide for these families.”

Neal said there have been many instances where farmers have to get rid of food because they cannot sell it due to the pandemic.

“We have all seen the frustrating pictures of farmers having to dump milk and we just tried to figure out how we might be able to take advantage of that milk and get it to people who at this time are in need and can use it,” he said. “There are 30 million Americans who have filed unemployment claims and we wanted to make that connection between those in need and the farmers.”

Ryan Harb, an account executive with Vanguard Renewables said this is the fourth event across the state and Rhode Island where milk has been donated to local food pantries. The company which turns food waste into renewable energy partners with five farms in Massachusetts including Barsow Dairy Farm in Hadley, Bar-Way Farm in Deerfield, Jordan Dairy Farms in Rutland and Spencer and Crescent Farm in Haverhill.

“A lot of the milk they produce goes to schools or to colleges and because the demand on that has gone down there is this surplus of milk,” he said. “This milk is good milk so we don’t want to put that in our digester, we want it to go to humans, to families who need it.”

Oasis Food Pantry is part of the Positive Regard Network a private school system working with children between the ages of 5-22 years-old. Staff from the schools help get the food to families every week.

Tasheka Simms, an interventionist at the Center School, said she enjoys distributing the food.

“You just see the smiles on their faces. I especially like interacting with the kids,” she said.

Due to the pandemic the distribution process has changed. Everyone wears masks and gloves and the food is placed in the trunk of the vehicles as they come through the parking lot.

Judith Brown has been volunteering to help out at the food pantry since it first started.

“My son was part of Positive Regard and I have been here since the beginning with the food pantry,” she said. “There is a lot of need in the community, especially now."

Neal said he hopes to coordinate another milk donation event soon and continue to ensure that Massachusetts residents have food and financial support during the pandemic.

“I do think that Congress acted swiftly, understanding the nature of the challenge, unemployment insurance was huge. Just about every economist would say that what we did with wage replacement and unemployment insurance was perhaps the most critical undertaking,” he said.