Hampden County Chambers of Commerce Unite to Fill the Food Bank & Donate $10,863 and 1,400 lbs of food to the Western Mass Food Bank
May 21, 2024
The East of the River Chamber, West of the River Chamber, Greater Chicopee Chamber, Greater Holyoke Chamber, Greater Westfield Chamber, and the Springfield Regional Chamber all came together on March 27th to FILL THE FOOD BANK!
The event, which took place at the new Western Mass. Food Bank in Chicopee on March 27, 2024, was an evening of networking that showcased the new building to the community while giving all of the area chamber members the opportunity to meet for a great cause.
Melissa Breor, Executive Director of the Greater Chicopee Chamber, said, “When Diana Szynal from the Springfield Chamber reached out to me with the idea for this event, I was all in! I thought it would be a great way for all the Hampden County chambers to unite for the first time in 1 event.” Grace Barone, Executive Director of the ERC5, said they all met collectively every other month to plan the event, and it came together quickly and easily. “We all had the same vision, to support our local community while partnering together.” Donations started rolling in, and sponsorships were given.
Many thanks to our generous sponsors: Baystate Health, Country Bank, KNF&T, Latino Economic Development Center, PeoplesBank & Westfield Gas & Electric, Andrews Associates, Comcast, Commercial Distributing, Employers Association of New England, The Markens Group, The Polish National Credit Union, Blaze Express, Center for Ecotechnology, Development Associates, Florence Bank, Greenfield Cooperative Bank, Holiday Inn Ludlow, Holyoke Gas & Electric, MassHire Holyoke & Park Square Realty for their generous support. The Fill the Food Bank event raised $10,863.00, and 1,400 pounds of food, which will give over 30,000 meals to people in need right here in our community!
The festivities were captured by Micheal Epaul’s photography and raffle donations by Six Flags New England and the Valley Blue Sox. Catering was provided by Partners Restaurant/Tanseys Catered Table in Agawam, who provided an amazing potato bar with baked and mashed potatoes and all the fixings. To top off the event, Ice Cream Emergency was parked out front offering samples from their elaborate ice cream truck