LONGMEADOW — As food insecurity increases across the region, the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee has launched an ongoing monthly food drive to help support residents facing growing financial strain.
The effort officially began in November, with donations collected at monthly committee meetings and distributed through the Longmeadow Adult Center.
LDTC Chair Barbara Wenig said the drive was motivated by recent national economic pressures that have had local consequences.
“Like everyone, we followed the issues of the government shutdown and the cut off of funding for the SNAP program,” Wenig said. “Between federal employees not receiving paychecks and leaving people who are dependent on the SNAP benefits without any support, we knew our community would be hit with increased demand.” She added that the Longmeadow Adult Center reported “almost double the amount of people coming to receive food support, so we responded to step up and help restock their pantry.”
The committee chose to partner with the Longmeadow Adult Center as its primary distribution hub to ensure donations would benefit local residents first.
“A number of local food banks sent out requests for donations, letting us know that their supplies were running dangerously low,” Wenig said. “Since we are a Longmeadow committee, we decided that for our first donation of food this year, the Adult Center made the most sense.”
She noted that in the coming months, donations will be shared with Rachel’s Table in Springfield as well. “In the coming months, we will split donations between the Adult Center and Rachel’s Table, which is based in Springfield but serves a wide geographic area,” she said.
The most urgent needs include non-perishable items that provide protein and nutrition.
“Non-perishable items, such as pasta, sauces, canned fish and chicken, and items with protein are most desirable,” Wenig said. She also emphasized the importance of child-friendly foods. “Because so many of the people needing food support are children, we also need to remember to include food items that are appealing to them, such as peanut butter and protein bars.”
For now, donations are being collected at LDTC meetings, but the effort may expand if demand continues to rise. “Right now, it makes sense to have one collection site, which will be at our meetings,” Wenig explained. “If we learn that more needs to be done, we will set up additional collection dates or participate in other drives throughout the area.” Committee members are also encouraged to drop food off directly at the Adult Center, which accepts donations during its regular hours.
Wenig said the food drive reflects the broader mission of the Democratic Party to support social safety nets.
“The Democratic Party has always supported social safety nets: it was under Democrats that the SNAP program began,” she said. “Now, in addition to food insecurity, we are seeing people who will lose health insurance or see dramatic increases in premiums; inflation is eating away at incomes, and prices are increasing every day.”
The response from LDTC members has been strong.
“Our members really stepped up and filled many boxes at the November meeting,” Wenig said. “Knowing that we will be doing this at every meeting, we feel confident that members will continue to find something in their cabinets or at the grocery store that they can afford to donate so no one will go hungry.”
“Our community, like so many others, is being pulled in many directions at the same time,” Wenig added. “So, we will continue to look for ways to support our neighbors in any way we can.”
