Berkshire Bounty Virtual Booth

Who We Are

Berkshires Bounty founder Mel Greenberg delivered food to those in need for over 25 years and built productive relationships with food providers, food distribution organizations, volunteers, and financial donors.

Backyard Bounty of the Berkshires founders Jay Weintraub and Mark Lefenfeld started a parallel effort in 2015 that grew to become comparable in size and function to Berkshires Bounty. Through the generosity of individual contributors and grantors (Green Pastures, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures and Jewish Women’s Foundation), Backyard Bounty was able to build a refrigerated storage space and establish a network of relationships that complemented and even overlapped with the relationship network of Berkshires Bounty.

The two organizations combined operations during early 2019 and now operate as a single entity, Berkshire Bounty, a 501(c)3 non-profit, in order to create new opportunities for efficiency and growth. Jay and Mark now manage the operation after the passing of Mel Greenberg during 2019.

What We Do

One out of ten people in Berkshire County and all of Western Massachusetts suffer food insecurity, i.e. hungry or at risk of being hungry. Berkshire Bounty collects excess fresh produce, baked goods and meats from supermarkets, farms and owners of fruit bearing trees. We deliver that food to pantries and other distribution organizations in South County and Pittsfield which then make that food available to those in need.

Relying on the generous donations from many people, Berkshire Bounty also purchases and distributes nutritious food that typically is not included in the excess food we regularly collect from food donors. We currently buy food from Guido's, Wohrle's, and Price Chopper.