Great Barrington’s Wheeler & Taylor Gives Big to Food Bank of Western Mass.

Wheeler & Taylor Insurance of Great Barrington and Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency of Agawam are providing major support to The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Two rounds of funding, one now and a second round in the spring, will pay for about 100,000 meals for hungry residents of Western Massachusetts.

The Food Bank provides food to 165 food pantries, shelters, and meal sites in Berkshire, Franklin, Hamden, and Hampshire counties.

“We’re so grateful to Wheeler & Taylor and Canary Blomstrom for their social investment in The Food Bank’s mission to feed our neighbors in need at this critical moment,” said Executive Director Andrew Morehouse. With this support, overall we’ll be able to provide 100,000 meals to households struggling to make ends meet and put healthy food on the table.”

“Thanks to The Food Bank, thousands of people in the region are able to get enough to eat every day,” said Wheeler & Taylor Insurance president J. Scott Rote. “In this time of unprecedented need, our communities need unprecedented support, and we’re glad to do our part.”

Wheeler & Taylor and Canary Blomstrom are members of GoodWorks Financial Group, a network of common-ownership insurance, real estate and financial firms.

“It couldn’t be a worse year, more heartbreaking year, for many folks. I’m glad to know the grants will support food programs in our local area as well as regionally,” said Sandy Brodeur, president of Canary Blomstrom.

With the pandemic, demand for food has grown exponentially. The Food Bank is serving 109,500 people a month in 2020, up 16% from 2019. The organization has distributed 11.1 million pounds of food from March through October, a 30% increase. It estimates that about one in six residents in the region, including 40,000 children, or one in four, are food-insecure.

Based in Hatfield, The Food Bank (www.foodbankwma.org) provides food to hundreds of member food pantries, shelters and meal sites in Western Massachusetts. The Food Bank does not distribute food directly to individuals (except through its Mobile Food Bank and Brown Bag Food for Elders programs). Instead, it acts as a regional clearinghouse to get nutritious food to local sites that help people in need of assistance.

Established in 1871, Wheeler & Taylor Insurance is a full-service independent agency and broker that serves customers with the highest level of excellence and professionalism. Headquartered in Great Barrington, it has offices throughout the Berkshires and operates nationally through locations in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Nevada. Web: www.wheelertaylor.com.

Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency offers auto and home insurance, business insurance, and individual and group life and health insurance and financial products. Its office is in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam. Web: http://canaryblomstrom.com.

With locations in multiple locations on the east and west coasts, GoodWorks Financial Group serves clients across the United States through its network of common-ownership companies. Web: https://www.goodworksfinancial.com.