Demand surges in Mass. amid rising food insecurity
SPRINGFIELD — Early Tuesday morning, Pastor Tom Brennan and a team from the Springfield Rescue Mission prepared 150 free meals as part of Operation SONshine for distribution across eight sites in Holyoke and Springfield.
The need, however, far outweighs the supply, said Brennan.
"Even if we took out 300 meals, there would still be more people in need," Brennan told The Republican.
The Rescue Mission, a faith-based nonprofit group, provides food, clothing, and support to individuals and families experiencing hardship. Each day, it serves hot meals three times a day at its Mill Street home to hundreds of people in need, a number that continues to climb.
The organization is struggling to keep up, Executive Director Kevin Ramsdell recently told The Republican. Over the first two months of 2025 at the mission, the average daily turnout of about 70 people ballooned to roughly 140 people, Ramsdell said.
"We can't do it all by ourselves," said Ramsdell. "The need has increased by 60 percent since January."
The Springfield Rescue Mission is a Christian charity that was founded in 1892. Executive Director Kevin Ramsdell speaks of the important work the nongovernmental organization does for the community. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Charities and public health officials across the state are sounding the alarm as food insecurity is surging. A June report from the Greater Boston Food Bank revealed that 45% of adults in Bristol, Hampden and Suffolk counties are food insecure. Statewide, 100,000 more adults struggled to access food in 2023 than in the previous year, according to the most recent numbers available.
Statewide, 804,180 people are food insecure and, of them, 177,040 are children, Feeding America says. One in eight children go hungry, according to the nonprofit.
A struggle for families
Across town, Jasmine Williams is doing her best to feed her two children, while also helping provide meals for other women and children at Christina's House, a faith-based nonprofit agency that offers transitional housing.
Unlike most residents at Christina's House, Williams is not a single mother. Her husband, Michael Williams, lives in subsidized housing across the city.
Jasmine Williams works as a substitute teacher at Pioneer Valley Christian Academy but still relies on her e-benefits card from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to make ends meet.
She told The Republican that, without food banks and SNAP, her family wouldn't have enough to eat.
Housing instability has compounded the challenges she and her family face, reflecting how dramatically the cost of living has risen since she was a child.
"People think you get married, buy a home, and everything is fine and dandy," said Williams. "A lot of my friends get married, and then they live with their parents."
Jasmine Williams makes dinner for 16 people at Christina's House, with her 10-month-old being held by Executive Director Carolyn Martinez. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
SNAP, which operates through the electronic benefits transfer system, sets monthly benefit limits based on household size. From this October through September 2026, the maximum benefit for a three-person household in Massachusetts is $785 a month.
However, those numbers could change, said Debra Ondo, communications and engagement manager at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
In March, federal funding cuts halted food deliveries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Food Bank, resulting in a $440,000 loss in food , the organization announced.
Currently, SNAP — formerly known as food stamps — injects more than $35 million into Western Massachusetts every month, according to the Food Bank , with 1 in 6 residents relying on the program.
But changes to eligibility rules are underway. Under a federal law signed in July, recipients must now meet work requirements to receive benefits.
Springfield resident Beverly Bowens, front of the line, came to the Wesley United Methodist Church for a food drive in mid-September. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
With the cost of living continuing to rise, the Food Bank is seeing another surge in demand, said Executive Director Andrew Morehouse. In July, he noted that the organization now serves more than 120,000 people , with a record high reached last November.
That month marked a peak in fiscal 2025, during which the Food Bank distributed the equivalent of nearly 15 million meals, a 5% increase over the previous year. Add inflation to the cost of food, and the effects are multiplied.
"Last year, (the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program) food costs were almost $1 more per pound than the previous year," Morehouse said.
Morehouse went on to highlight that this is a crucial moment, and that people should take stock of the changes being administered.
"Citizens and communities need to think about the value of what's important to us," said Morehouse. "What is the role of the federal government in ensuring that our communities are healthy and our local economies are strong, so that we can brave the future and everything that's coming at us?"
Shaggy adds salt to his lunch at the Springfield Rescue Mission on Mill Street. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
