What We Do

Our Mission:

Berkshire Bounty is a 501(c)(3) food rescue organization with the mission to collect, purchase and deliver nutritious food to emergency food distribution programs countywide. We build capacity, close gaps and improve the quality of food for the food insecure population.   Our vision is for everyone to have access to sufficient nutritious food for themselves and their families. 

How we do this:

Collecting: Using over 100 registered and active volunteers, donated food is collected through a network of 14 retailers and delivered to 19 distribution organizations that directly serve the community including food pantries, public schools and senior centers.

Purchasing: A significant percentage of donated funds are used to purchase nutritious food including meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce and culturally appropriate items to build capacity and improve the quality of food choices in our partner distribution sites.

History:

Berkshire Bounty was formed by Jay Weintraub and Mark Lefenfeld in 2016, with a simple idea – to enlist volunteers to pick fruit from peoples’ backyard trees, for delivery to those suffering from food insecurity. We quickly expanded the strategy to include food donated by and purchased from local supermarkets. Our growth was accelerated when we merged with a similar local organization that had been delivering food to those in need for over 25 years. We’re grateful to the late Mel Greenberg, the founder of that organization. 

Collaboration:

We leverage our operation by partnering with other local nonprofit organizations, such as Berkshire Grown, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, Berkshire United Way, Community Health Programs (CHP) Fairview Hospital’s Rural Health Network, Greenagers, Berkshire Community Action Council, North Berkshire Food Access Collaborative and others. These ties have resulted in a number of cooperative ventures including countywide food distributions.