Outrun Hunger – Let’s Race to fill the bowls!
Dear Friends,
Ready, set go! Our upcoming 5k road race and 1-mile fun walk, Outrun Hunger, is in motion. This biennial event, co-sponsored by our Teen Board, helps us raise funds and awareness so that we can fight hunger. You can come run or walk in person with us on May 22, 10am, at Glenbrook Middle School in Longmeadow, or you can run or walk virtually anywhere in the word between May 1 – 22. No matter which you choose, the registration fee helps us with our tireless work to feed people. You can also help sponsor this event, and we will share our gratitude for your support throughout the year as well as on May 22.
We fight hunger in the Pioneer Valley every day. That is the basis of Rachel’s Table at the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts. Every day, we answer the question “what can I do?” by providing volunteer opportunities to drive, dispatch, and help us with the upcoming race, all to feed hungry people right here in our own backyard. We answered “what can I do?” this past year, with help from our 200+ volunteers, and your support, by:
- Distributing ¾ million pounds of food – equaling over 625,000 meals;
- Saving over 1,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions;
- Adding more than six new food donors for ongoing food recovery;
- Expanding our 6-day-a-week program into Hampshire and Franklin Counties;
- Becoming a transportation partner of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts;
- Supporting Afghan refugees in the Pioneer Valley with $6,000 towards food to Jewish Family Service’s resettlement program;
- Purchasing over $50,000 of meat and produce for our 54+ agencies throughout challenging times during the pandemic;
- and with the support of the Arbella Insurance Foundation, launched the Growing Gardens initiative to help our agencies develop sustainable options for growing their own healthy and culturally appropriate food.
We are also very pleased to announce that Bob and Roberta Bolduc have offered a $10,000 matching gift to Rachel’s Table! If you’d like to support our work, donations of any size will be matched starting right away through to April 15! Thank you so much to Bob and Roberta, past honorees of Rachel’s Table, who offer their insight and generosity to support efforts to better our local community.
We welcome you to join us in fighting hunger in any way you can. Join us in answering “what can I do?”. Together we can make a difference!
To a day when we are all at the table,
Jodi Falk, Director