LISSA West- Food Drive

Posted October 12, 2026 by Jake Goldman

I’m happy to say that LISSA West, which represents SLIS students attending the West Campus, will soon be kicking off our second year of collaboration with the Montague Public Libraries to coordinate our Fall 2026 Food and Hygiene Supplies Drive in support of the Millers Falls Branch Library Food Pantry. Last year’s drive coincided with a crisis in the funding of the SNAP program, which caused many people to lose their benefits. This year, in the context of continued high levels of food insecurity, I know that all of our efforts will have a really significant impact.

 I’d like to take this opportunity to talk a bit about the food pantry because it speaks to the ways libraries can creatively expand their services to meet the needs of our communities. The pantry offers a variety of fresh, frozen, and dry goods patrons can take home during regular library hours, no questions asked. 

The story goes that the pantry got its start when my predecessor, Melinda, offered her sandwich to a patron experiencing hunger. Soon the pantry expanded to a shelf of canned goods by the nonfiction section. The critical moment came when we gained support from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts as a member site, enabling the pantry to consistently access food to stock the pantry. 

Since I began managing the branch in 2024, we’ve also begun hosting cooking demonstrations as part of our programming offerings, expanded our community partners to include Drawdown Montague, a collective of local gardeners who contribute gleaned and locally grown produce to the pantry in-season. We’ve also received a collaborative grant funded by the United Way in partnership with the Brick House and Red Fire Farm to assess how best to address food insecurity in the area and procure consistent access to fresh, local produce for the pantry.

 I should also note the transformative effect of the pantry on the library itself—in part as a result of high foot traffic driven by the pantry, the branch has become a beloved community hub where it’s common for friends and neighbors to meet and enjoy the space, catch up, discuss the latest, a well-used modern agora in a time where social third spaces are incredibly valuable. It’s worth thinking about the nontraditional ways your library or organization could engage with the needs of your users.