SPRINGFIELD — The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts has begun a rebranding effort, unveiling a new program and fundraiser this year and spinning off the organization’s long-running Rachel’s Table program to become an independent entity.

The federation’s board of trustees voted to turn Rachel’s Table, a food rescue program that provides food to agencies such as soup kitchens and food pantries across Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, into its own nonprofit, a change that took effect July 1.

“For the past 30 years, we have nurtured Rachel’s Table like a proud parent, and we are now seeing this program take off on its own journey,” Nora Gorenstein, CEO of the federation, said in a statement. “In assessing our strategic priorities, it became clear that like any business, the federation has a responsibility to be efficient, sustainable and driven by data while staying focused on our philanthropic mission to care for others and for our community.”

Claudia Mejia-Haffner, a communications officer for the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, said the decision for Rachel’s Table to become its own nonprofit was inspired by the overall success of the program, which has around 200 volunteers and delivers to more than 40 agencies, according to the group’s website.

“It was just too big a program to stay a program,” Mejia-Haffner said. “This change does not mean that they’re on their own. We will continue to support their work, but just in a different way as a constituent agency.”

While Rachel’s Table charting its own course, the federation plans to launch a new program this month called Dignity Grows, which will focus on distributing hygiene products, including feminine hygiene products, to those in need. The program is officially set to begin on July 25, with a kickoff event on July 21, where volunteers will assemble individual kits to be distributed through the Amherst Survival Center.

“It’s a program that actually has been taken up by a lot of other [Jewish] federations across the country,” Mejia-Haffner said. “We work with volunteers and organizations to put together packages filled with personal hygiene products, so that women can continue on with their lives and be able to be a part of society.”

In the fall, the federation will take over the Ride to Provide fundraiser, which brings community members and various Jewish organizations together to participate in biking routes as well as a 5K run. The event was originally created by UMass Hillel, a Jewish student organization.

The new Dignity Grows program and Ride to Provide event, as well as the branching off of Rachel’s Table, are part of an overall “brand refresh” for the federation, which has updated its logo with a new font and palette of blue colors. The rebranding is occurring under the leadership of Gorenstein, who took over as the federation’s CEO last year.

“We’ve had a lot of good changes, positive changes within the federation, in the way we work with our partners in the programs that we’re able to offer,” Mejia-Haffner said. “We really are just re-looking and revising everything that we are doing and just trying to see where we can make our impact.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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