Franklin County Community Meals Program

Published: Monday, February 25, 2008

GREENFIELD -- On a warm day in May 1971, a 16-year-old brunette was waiting, along with others, to be picked up by ambulances during a mock-disaster drill at the Franklin County Public Hospital.

The crowd of pretend victims slowly dwindled down, as those with the most urgent injuries were shipped away.

And, then there were two. Amy Sawyer, a candy striper at the hospital and 18-year-old Doug Clarke, a junior volunteer from Deerfield Academy.

Amy was tagged ''dead on arrival'' and Doug only had minor ''injuries,'' so they were the last to be picked up.

The two struck up a conversation behind the hospital and continued talking as they rode in the ambulance together. Not long after, the two teenagers started dating.

Now, 30 years later, Amy's name has changed because she married that teenage boy she met on that warm May day.

Amy and Doug Clarke have been married for over 30 years and have five children -- and are both still active volunteering in the community.

Amy Clarke, 53, is now the executive director of the Franklin County Community Meals program and she is not the only one in her family involved with the meals program.

Her husband, Doug, was the president of the community meals program in the 1990s, and her oldest daughter, Emily, served meals throughout high school and has been on the board of trustees for about six years. And, now, her grandchildren help fill the bag lunches.

''I don't think you could find a job much more rewarding than the job I have,'' she said. ''I feel very grateful to have the job I do.''

Community Meals was started by a small group from the Unitarian Church in Greenfield. Now, the program provides meals five evenings each week in Greenfield, Turners Falls and Orange and provides food to people and families through the Orange Food Pantry.

''I think the meal sites feel like a community,'' she said.

Clarke said, while the attendees enjoy their hot meals, they share stories and make announcements to keep each other informed.

''It is a really supportive community,'' she said.

Clarke's volunteering started even earlier than her days as a candy striper, where she volunteered at the hospital in her pink and white-stripped dress and white blouse.

Clarke reminisced about walking around Madison Circle in Greenfield as a young child, towing a wagon filled with an assortment of knitted ware. She sold the handmade crafts to help raise money for the hospital right down the road.

Now, Clarke is still active in volunteering at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. She is on the Community Benefits Committee at the hospital and was on its board of directors. She headed up the community fundraising for the emergency room renovations.

Clarke is also the president of the board of trustees at the Church Street Home, a home for eight senior women, where she has volunteered for 25 years. She and her husband volunteer at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. She is part of the founding group of Women's Way of United Way, who help meet the needs for low income children in the community.

She was on the Stoneleigh-Burnham School's board of trustees, where some of her children attended school

''We have a big family,'' she said with a smile. ''So, we have a bigger obligation to pay the community back.''

The clan is made up of mother and father, Amy and Doug, and their children, Emily, Ben, Abby, Annie and Sam.

The mother of five said every one of her children has given back to the community.

''I am very proud of them all,'' she said.

Clarke grew up in Greenfield and raised her family in the neighborhood tucked off of High Street.

''I love Greenfield,'' she said. ''It is a very nice town.''

''It (volunteering) is rewarding and you feel good doing something good for your community.''