PeoplesBank gives $100K to food banks, pantries, survival centers in Mass., Conn.
HOLYOKE — Responding to a widening food security crisis, PeoplesBank has donated $100,000 to food banks, survival centers and food pantries in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The money is in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars that the bank already had put toward fighting food insecurity over the course of 2025, said Matthew Bannister, PeoplesBank senior vice president of corporate responsibility and sponsorships.
Bank employees were stepping forward, he said. They were asking what PeoplesBank could do to help.
"It's a moment of attention," he said.
The government shutdown delayed or stopped SNAP benefits for many New Englanders this month.
"The political drama may resolve itself in the next 24 hours. It may drag on for weeks and weeks. But the food insecurity issue is still going to be there," Bannister said.
Rose Schwartz, right, helps to pack food for the mobile food truck program in Easthampton. Schwartz was recently furloughed because of the federal shutdown and saw cars lining up in her neighborhood so decided to help out on Nov. 6. (Douglas Hook / The Republican, File)Douglas Hook
In Western Massachusetts alone, more than 191,000 people depend on SNAP to put food on the table. SNAP brings $35 million every month into the region.
"With a 30% surge in demand, we're deeply concerned about meeting every client's needs while maintaining the quality of care and support we strive to offer," Shannon Rudder, CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, said in a prepared statement. "Families are feeling more vulnerable than ever, and the emotional toll is growing."
PeoplesBank has begun to distribute $5,000 to $10,000 grants to the following organizations: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Connecticut Foodshare; The Care Center of Holyoke; Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services; Rachel's Table of Western Massachusetts; Amherst Survival Center; Northampton Survival Center; Lorraine's Soup Kitchen; Neighbors Helping Neighbors; Providence Ministries – Margaret's Pantry; Salvation Army Holyoke Corps; Family Outreach of Amherst; Gifts of Love; Midwest Food Bank New England; Hands on Hartford; Interval House of Hartford; Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford; and Friend to Friend Food Pantry.
PeoplesBank had made food programs a focus of its philanthropy and had prior relationships with the organizations, Bannister said.
"We already knew them, (and) we already knew the work there were doing," he said.
Bannister said PeoplesBank wants to set an example.
"We're trying to get other people to do the same," Bannister said.
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