TURNER FALLS, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Food insecurity is a prominent issue across Western Mass., including Franklin County, and the need continues to grow this holiday season.
“We did 125 holiday meals last year, I would guess this year it would be 175-200,” said Fern Kolakowski.
Kolakowski, the Executive Director of the Franklin Area Survival Center tells Western Mass News the demand for Thanksgiving isn’t shocking.
From October 2022 to September 2023 they served nearly 1700 in 948 households – which is up about twelve percent from the year before.
“We’ve had a lot of people who haven’t come in here for several years, start to come back as well, so that shows you the people who are barely making it are no longer making it. You can look at the price of gas and the price of food and see why,” said Kolakowski.
She tells us other factors include food stamp reduction and economic situations worsening for many. But when the people feel the struggle the food bank can too. Kolakowski says people remain generous, but many donation drives fell short. and having to replace their delivery truck, isn’t helpful.
“We do need the truck to get the food here on a weekly basis, we take in 4 thousand pounds of food. If I can’t get the truck here can’t feed people,” said Kolakowski.
With the Thanksgiving holiday around the corner, they are calling for help to get food to hundreds of families so they too can celebrate with a feast.
Now Kolakowski tells me the center has made over 40 of these holiday bags containing everything you would need for a feast from cranberry sauce to mashed potatoes to even some dessert but the goal is to make over 100 more of these bags to give everyone a chance to have a holiday meal.
And they hope to get their hands on over one hundred turkeys, so far, they have one.
“The organization that normally had donated most of our turkeys disbanded in February so we are in serious trouble in terms of getting people that holiday turkey,” said Kolakowski.
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