The increasingly grim news about SNAP benefit cuts and increased food poverty in our region is devastating. You can make a difference though.

Every week, Franklin County Community Meals volunteers walk through the doors, put on aprons, wash their hands and get to work. Vegetables get chopped. Dishes get washed. Tables get flowers. Meals get packed. Guests arrive. And, together, we make sure our neighbors have a good meal and a welcoming place to eat it.

It’s neighbors feeding neighbors — and we’d love to have you be part of it.

We need volunteers!

Our Greenfield Community Meal Site at Second Congregational Church (SCC), 16 Court Square, serves free community meals every Tuesday and Wednesday from 4:45-5:45pm.

Some volunteers come every week and become part of the regular crew. Others come when they have a free afternoon.

Both are wonderful. You can volunteer once, occasionally, or choose a regular slot.

And with everyone's busy late-summer schedules, we could particularly use some extra hands over the next four weeks. If you've thought about volunteering with FCCMP but haven't found the right moment, this would be a great time to give it a try.

You don't need kitchen experience. When you arrive, we'll help you get oriented and give you a job.

There are lots of ways to help.

MONDAYS

3:00–4:30 pm, approximately — Unload & Stock
Help unload our delivery van and stock the shelves for the week ahead.

TUESDAYS & WEDNESDAYS

1:00–3:00 pm — Meal Prep
Join the kitchen crew preparing that evening's meal.

1:00–3:00 pm — Dishwashing
Keep the kitchen moving while the meal is being prepared.

3:00–6:00 pm — Dishwashing
Help us through the busy transition from cooking to meal service.

3:45–6:45 pm — Meal Service Crew
Pack to-go meals, greet our guests, serve dinner and help with cleanup.

4:30–6:00 pm — Serving Only
Don't have two to three hours? That's okay, you can volunteer for meal service only, or let us know what hours you CAN do and we will do our best to accommodate you!

Or bring us flowers!

Here's another lovely way to volunteer.

Each Tuesday at 1:00 pm, we're looking for someone to bring fresh flowers for the dining room.

That can be five simple table arrangements or small 4–6 inch potted flowering plants.

Nothing elaborate or expensive. Just something fresh and cheerful for the tables where our guests sit down to eat.

It's a small thing that helps make a free community meal feel less institutional and more like what it should be: a meal shared among neighbors.

What volunteering here feels like:

You might be chopping vegetables one week and packing meals the next. You might wash an impressive number of dishes. You might greet someone who's joining us for the first time.

Whatever your job, you're helping us create more than dinner.

We want FCCMP's meal sites to be places where people feel welcome, safe, respected and seen — places where everyone is treated with dignity and where good food helps build community.

That's what our volunteers make possible. It's really a lovely experience for everyone involved.

Wondering what to expect?

We've put together a short Volunteer Quick Guide that explains how things work at the Greenfield Meal Site — from arriving and signing in to basic kitchen practices and what you can expect during your shift.

Take a look before you sign up. We want new volunteers to feel comfortable walking through the door and ready to jump in.

Can you give us a hand?

If you have a free Monday afternoon, a couple of hours on Tuesday or Wednesday, or even just 4:30–6:00 pm to help serve, we'd be VERY grateful to have you.

Come once. Come a few times. Or find a regular shift that works for you. Click the button below and let us know what date/days and time/s you would like to help and if you have a specific job you'd prefer (1st and 2nd choice is helpful). We will do our best to give you a slot!

Coming up at FCCMP...

There’s a lot happening across our programs, and in upcoming updates we’ll take you behind the scenes.

Spotlight on Turners Falls
Meet the volunteers and community behind our Monday meal in Turners Falls and see what happens each week to get dinner on the table.

And: What’s going on in Orange?
We’ll visit FCCMP’s Orange Food Pantry and Community Meal Site to share what’s happening there, introduce some of the people who make it all work, and show you the many ways FCCMP is serving our neighbors in eastern Franklin County.

Stay tuned — there’s much more to share from around FCCMP.

Stay connected with FCCMP:

See what's cooking, get the latest menus and news from our meal sites, and keep up with what's happening around FCCMP.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram!

Thank you for everything you do to support FCCMP and our neighbors throughout Franklin County.

With gratitude,

Isabel “Charlie” Spencer
Interim Executive Director
Franklin County Community Meals Program

Neighbors feeding neighbors, all across Franklin County.