Nearly 400 Chicopee families in need pick up food distributed at the Boys and Girls Club

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Feed the Children has teamed up once again with Price Rite and the Boys and Girls Club to hand out $150,000 worth of supplies to food-insecure families in Chicopee.

Price Rite is kicking off its annual “Feeding Minds & Bodies” campaign to help combat food insecurity and promote healthy childhood development. Over 400 families were able to receive several pounds of food and daily essentials.

For the last ten years, Price Rite and Feed the Children have partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee to provide food and essentials to families experiencing food insecurity.

Working with feeding the children and the Boys and Girls Club is just another step of people going over and above to donate foods and give to these people who really are in need,” Kevin McDonnell, President at Price Rite Marketplace told 22News.

In Chicopee over 6,200 kids go to bed hungry every night, “That’s a large number. And it’s 11 percent of the population and Chicopee is struggling so we’re here today to help make sure they have enough food to last them a couple of weeks so they don’t have to worry for that amount of time,” said Joe Allegro, Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships for Feed the Children.

The families that were pre-identified by the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee were able to also receive supermarket gift cards as well as hygiene products not covered by SNAP benefits.

Families who rely on free and reduced-priced lunches during the school year struggle with providing meals for their children during the summer. In an effort to help these families, this program hosts drives from May through the fall to make sure no child goes to bed hungry.

“Children cannot thrive unless their basic needs are met,” said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. “A widespread issue like childhood hunger will only be solved when enough people work together. Partners like Price Rite, Pepsi and the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee are vital to our mission as we serve vulnerable communities.”

Since the two organizations first began working together in 2015, more than 40,000 families have received the fresh fruit, vegetables, and groceries they need to nourish their families.

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Melissa Torres is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2021. Follow Melissa on X @melissatorrestv and view her bio to see more of her work.

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