Mickey Friedman
November 7, 2019
I do Thursday. One of a team picking up donated food from Fuel, Big Y, Guido’s, and Great Barrington Bagel for People’s Pantry weekly food distribution. Early on it was Mel Greenberg, sometimes Phyllis Weiss, my steadfast downstairs neighbor Jurek Zamoski and I. Others did Tuesday and Friday.
When Jurek moved, Mel enlisted Mark Cohen. And Mark enlisted the dependable Billy Fuller. We began to worry what would happen as first Phyllis Weiss died and Mel Greenberg got sicker. They were the critically important founders of Berkshires Bounty. We worried that their/our several decades old good work feeding the hungry might fade away without their ever-present personal commitment.
Mark proved instrumental as Mel moved closer to death, helping to assure a smooth transition, ably representing Mel while shepherding the birth of the new organization, Berkshire Bounty.
Mel and Ellen Greenberg offered not only the inspiring vision they promoted all these years, but the organization’s bank account which paid for a much-needed van for food pickup and delivery.
Mark’s story is instructive. Initially, he was moved to help Phyllis and Mel who, in their seventies and eighties, were clearly struggling with the physical aspect of the work. But Mark learned, as I had, Mel’s generosity was infectious: “My motivation changed (and was enriched) once I had the chance to directly experience the people (and stores) that were donating food, the People’s Pantry that distributed it, and most significantly, the people who were receiving it. I discovered I was deeply grateful to be of service to others, and to make a major contribution helping those who suffer from food insecurity.”
In retrospect, it makes perfect sense that talks began with Backyard Bounty’s Mark Lefenfeld, Jay Weintraub and Paul Kaplan. It was Fall 2015, when Jay approached Mark L about rescuing the apples from Jay’s trees that would never get picked or eaten. Mark L quickly volunteered to not only pick apples but form a non-profit to do it on other properties. Neither fully aware where the attempt to solve a simple, single problem would lead them.
One apple led to another, then from apples to peaches and pears. Jay explains: “This was originally conceived as a project for September/October. We thought it would be easy to find property owners with trees, people excited to work together picking apples, and food pantries who could distribute them. We were right on all accounts — but the weather played a trick on us, and there were almost no apples on the trees the first year of our operation. That was a curse and a blessing, as it led to our decision to branch out — to go beyond the apple trees, to supermarkets and farmers’ markets.”
And so they grew. By 2017, Backyard Bounty rescued over 8,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables that might otherwise have ended up in landfills or as compost. They distributed 33,000 pounds to families in need in 2018.
Mark L talked about how solving the apple problem led him to committing “to an activity that addresses a ‘real world’ need (food insecurity in the Berkshires).” He stressed: “I love the idea of creating something from scratch that is intended to meet a need and succeeds in doing it. I saw an opportunity to make a real difference.”
Jay’s neighbor, Paul Kaplan, joined in: “For a long time I felt the best way I could help was through annual charitable donations to the Greater Boston Foodbank and Feeding America but when I moved to the Berkshires full time I looked to shift my focus more locally and find a way to be involved that would also include more hands on volunteering. It has been incredibly satisfying to see firsthand what a big positive impact our group of volunteers is having in the community.”
And so in 2019, combining both efforts, a new organization, Berkshire Bounty was formed. (http://berkshire-bounty.org) And what could have been the slow death of an incredibly important several decades long volunteer effort has instead become a major victory for the community. Invigorated, larger than ever.
Today Matt Chester, Mark Cohen, Geoffrey Donelan, Larry Frankel, Billy Fuller, Peter Gale, Rabbi Neil Hirsch. Rabbi Liz Hirsch, Paul Kaplan, Mark Lefenfeld, Mark Pruhenski, Ben Silberstein, Jay Weintraub and I pick up food from Big Y, Fuel, Guido’s in both Great Barrington and Pittsfield, Price Chopper, Barrington Bagel, Berkshire Co-op, and the GB Farmer’s Market (Indian Line Farm, Makristo Farm, MX Morningstar Farm, Double Decker Farm, Mycoterra Farm.) We distribute food to People’s Pantry, St. Peter’s Church Food Pantry, Claire Teague Senior Center, Volunteers in Medicine, Guthrie Center, Construct, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, WIC/CHP, Berkshire Immigration Center, Salvation Army, Sheffield Food Assistance Program, Stockbridge Senior Center, South Congregational Church, Berkshire Fallon Medicaid ACO, and WIC/CHP Pittsfield,
Mel multiplied. More volunteers. More merchants. More farms. More food. 100,000 pounds this year. Less hunger. Taking better care of those who need help.
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Mel Multiplied was first published on October 31, 2019 in The Berkshire Record.