TURNERS FALLS — With Congressman Jim McGovern’s participation, a passionate panel discussed how to address the hunger problem in Franklin County and beyond.
Panelists included McGovern, Franklin County Community Meals Program Executive Director Andrea Leibson, Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantries Program Coordinator Justin Costa, Lifepath Executive Director Roseann Martoccia, and Shea Theater President Monte Belmonte, who also belongs to the Coalition to End Hunger.
The Shea Theater donated the space to the forum and held a cash bar afterward so residents could talk about how to get involved with volunteering and working against hunger.
Moderating the forum was Shannon Prescott of Franklin County Young Professionals, who began the talk by stating facts about food insecurity and hunger.
“The majority of people who are ‘food insecure’ are above the poverty line,” Prescott said. “These are people who are hovering above the line, but are still struggling to make ends meet. Kids are the most food insecure in our country and that’s just not okay.”
McGovern introduced himself as a person who cares deeply about solving the hunger issue — a platform he’s focused on for many years. He told of how he’s visited food banks at capacity, and seen countless soup kitchens run out of food because they can’t keep up with the demand.
Simply, McGovern’s goal is to prevent more people from becoming hungry.
“So much focus in Washington is for cutting programs, like SNAP (food stamps),” he said. “It’s frustrating to see programs cut that need to be expanded.”
Martoccia works especially with elders and those with disabilities, and said Massachusetts is ranked as the 49th state in the country for attended-to senior needs. One in ten people over 60 in Western Massachusetts get food stamps.
“There are some things you can live without,” McGovern commented. “Food isn’t one of them.”
“Kids who go to school hungry don’t learn,” he continued, adding that seniors who need to take their medicine with food end up in the hospital if they can’t get food.
“It is costing us billions not to solve this problem,” he concluded. “My goal is to put the food banks out of business so we don’t need them anymore.”
Prescott told the story of how she grew up with food stamps and went to the food bank with her mother. She admitted that as a child, she was embarrassed that her mother had to use food stamps to feed her family.
The food bank didn’t have any fresh produce, and she recalled the sheer amount of spaghetti that was constantly served.
Later, as a young single mother, Prescott used food stamps and visited the food bank until she got the resources she needed.
“I’m happy to say I’m totally self-reliant now,” she said.
Prescott now uses her past to educate others on the false stigmas about food stamps.
“It takes a lot to ask for help,” she said, explaining that once she asked, the help she received gave her the push she needed to be successful.
Belmonte also spoke about the negative stereotypes against food stamps, reminding the audience that many food stamp recipients cannot work because they are children, elderly or disabled. One of the popular arguments about government-funded food assistance is that people who receive it are lazy.
He also cautioned the audience about the negative aspects of the Trump Administration’s proposed “Harvest Box,” which would get rid of food stamps and replace the program with the delivery of non-perishables.
“We need to change the narrative,” he said. “These people aren’t lazy. Our goal needs to be to de-stigmatize food stamps.”
The forum opened to the public so people could ask panelists questions. Some lauded the panelists for their work in the community. People also called for teaching others how to grow food and learn how to eat healthy on a budget.
A cafeteria manager for Turners Falls High School told the panel that the Friday before the week-long school vacations, students were having anxiety attacks and meltdowns because they didn’t know how they were going to eat while they weren’t in school.
For some students, school is the only time they get food.
In his response to the cafeteria worker, McGovern stated his support for universal free breakfasts and lunches for schoolchildren.
“That meal is as important to learning as a textbook,” he said.
Reach Christie Wisniewski at: cwisniewski@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280