Monte Belmonte joined “So That Reminds Me” hosts Dennis Hackett and Tyler Garnet to talk about this year’s March for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
With SNAP benefits currently in a volatile state at the federal level, the March for the Food Bank is more important than ever before.
On this week’s episode of “So That Reminds Me,” hosts Dennis Hackett and Tyler Garnet sat down with Monte Belmonte, the host and executive producer of New England Public Radio’s “The Fabulous 413,” to discuss the march.
The 43-mile trek — in its 16th year — will take place on Nov. 24 and 25 and incorporate all four Western Mass. counties. Belmonte will push an empty shopping cart from Springfield to Greenfield across those two days in an effort to raise money for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
According to Belmonte, this year’s event also includes a 3-mile Berkshire Mini-March in Pittsfield on Nov. 22, after which marchers can volunteer at the Pittsfield Community Pantry preparing bags of food for Thanksgiving Angels.
“The more I learn about the root causes of hunger, the more that I learn about how this is a solvable issue, and that we can band together as a community and petition those in government to help even more to end this problem,” Belmonte said, when talking about what motivates him to walk. “We need to support the local food banks and the local food pantries. And we also need to come up with a statewide and a federal-wide way of dealing with this.”
What started out as a modest march has expanded significantly for the region. Belmonte reflected on his time working with Cancer Connection, where he would camp out in the cold weather on the old courthouse lawn in Northampton and raise money for the Food Bank. The first march 16 years ago spawned from those efforts, Belmonte said.
“I think maybe because the Food Bank saw the success of the Cancer Connection camp out, and just because of the economics of the way things work at the Food Bank, they said, ‘we can actually do a lot more good if we do a fund drive rather than a food drive,” he said.
Belmonte’s first march 16 years ago, a journey from Northampton to Greenfield, yielded $13,000, according to the Food Bank. The movement skyrocketed from there. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, the walk has raised over $500,000 each year, and the goal this year, according to Belmonte, is to raise $650,000.
“In 2020, the goal was to raise around $300,000, but because people kind of understood, maybe for the first time in their lives, how close they were to hunger, we raised over $600,000 that year,” Belmonte said. “And it blew all of our minds.”
Belmonte emphasized the importance of having major state, local and federal officials participate in the march in some capacity, especially in a time when the status of SNAP benefits is uncertain during the ongoing government shutdown.
He mentioned how U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern walks the entire 43 miles, while other officials, like U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, contribute at some point, as well.
“For every one meal the food bank provides, SNAP provides nine meals,” Belmonte said. “So, when SNAP does not go out, the Food Bank of Western Mass. can’t fill that gap … that is why it’s great to have representation from both individuals, grassroots folks, interested people in our neighborhood to elected officials.”
Belmonte said the march route is pretty much the same as past years, but he noted the importance of hitting specific food pantries along the way, especially so people are aware of how their donations are used.
“People get to see in action what it is they’re raising money for,” Belmonte said. “The Food Bank is a warehouse, 199 food pantries are where the food actually meets the person’s shopping baskets and their tables. So, it’s great to go and see some of those.”
In addition to handing Belmonte a check or cash donation during the walk, people can also donate to the Food Bank by visiting the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts website.
Readers can listen to the full episode with Belmonte by visiting thereminder.com/ourpodcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite platform to listen to podcasts on.
