Emergency Food Pantries See Increased Demand

The largest one-day food drive in the nation is happening today. Letter carriers across the country are collecting donations of non-perishable foods left by mailboxes or dropped off at post offices. The food will be distributed to local emergency food pantries.   200,000 people sought emergency food assistance in western Massachusetts last year – a 50 percent increase from just five years ago, according to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Candace Larger, the director of the Open Pantry emergency food pantry in Springfield.