Learning for Food:
Fostering partnerships between colleges and universities and the Food Bank of Western
Massachusetts
Goal
The goal of the LPV Blue Team was to identify strategies for how the Food Bank of Western
Massachusetts can partner with colleges and universities in the Pioneer Valley, in order to:
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Provide volunteers to support the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
Raise awareness of food insecurity by incorporating hunger issues into academic
curricula
Generate food donations from students, staff, and faculty
The Blue Team’s mission for accomplishing this goal was to create a replicable model at Holyoke
Community College and Westfield State University that supports the Food Bank of Western
Massachusetts, through volunteerism and food donations. This model, which is referred to as
the College Engagement Model (CEM), is based on a collaborative effort from various
stakeholders. The CEM can be replicated and sustained at colleges and universities through the
Pioneer Valley through community engagement.
Service Provided
The Blue Team created a test model to engage students, staff, and faculty at Westfield State
University and Holyoke Community College with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The
outcome was a model for a robust partnership that is both institutionalized and sustainable.
Specific aspects of the model partnership focused on volunteerism and food donations.
Learning Process and Group Dynamics
The Blue Team’s group dynamics were consistently collaborative, with project decisions made
by seeking consensus among all Team members. Group sessions typically began with a
brainstorming of ideas, which led in to a decision making process that incorporated open
dialogue and utilized the Convergent Thinking Model. The Team maintained a light, friendly
environment and always made sure to have plenty of tasty food and humor in abundance at
meetings. The Team was respectful of one another’s diverse backgrounds and knowledge, fully
realizing that consideration of multiple perspectives can lead to creative, synergistic outcomes.
The Team said please and thank you and incorporated a “yes-and” approach to listening.
Overall, the Team valued the strengths of the each individual member and capitalized upon
these strengths in order to further the Team’s goal and mission. This positive group dynamic
allowed for a common understanding of the Team’s purpose and a good balance between
project work and members’ other life responsibilities. There was always equal participation from
all Team members. Further, each team member demonstrated accountability.
An example of the Team’s positive team dynamic was the development of the project scope.
The Team started out by sharing responsibility to reach out to all area colleges and universities,
in order to identify which would be willing to collaborate on the project. Westfield State
University and Holyoke Community College demonstrated strong interest. This, combined with
the fact that the Team had members who work at each institution, led the Blue Team to develop
its college engagement model with WSU and HCC.
Leadership Program Concepts Incorporated
The Blue Team utilized a variety of concepts that were learned during the challenge and
experience days of Leadership Pioneer Valley 2014. The following qualities of leadership largely
structured how the group undertook its work.
Authenticity was important for how the Blue Team’s members related to each other. As a
cohesive group, the team created a safe environment where each individual could be their
authentic self and play off the strengths of their colleagues. This safe environment fostered
dependability amongst all members and helped when needing to develop consensus. The Blue
Team’s display of authenticity also encouraged several of the college students to be their
authentic selves during the volunteer day and gain more from the experience.
A sense of purpose was important to the project in a couple of ways. The Food Bank has a
focused purpose that feeds their vision of eliminating hunger and addressing hunger issues. The
Blue Team felt each team member had a purpose within the larger group, and was able to bring
different skills, knowledge and resources that could make a positive impact on the mission of
The Food Bank.
Sponsorship was provided by the Blue Team to The Food Bank through the development of the
College Engagement Model, in which a relationship was established between The Food Bank,
Westfield State University, and Holyoke Community College. The two colleges are now actively
pursuing sponsorship themselves, by identifying ways in which service-based learning can be
more embedded in the colleges’ curricula.
The Blue Team’s resilience was essential for the success of the project, since goals and
objectives had to constantly be evaluated and changed over the course of the project in order to
ensure that the College Engagement Model is both reliable and sustainable for The Food Bank.
Community building occurred during volunteer day, when college students were engaged in
helping others around them and learning about the hunger issues faced by their fellow Pioneer
Valley residents. Physically bringing the college students to The Food Bank for volunteer day
created a community between them as well as members of the Blue Team.
Reason plays a large component in hunger issues, since many people hold an inaccurate
perception that hunger only exists in certain communities and socioeconomic classes. In fact,
hunger issues exist in every community and the reality is that while there is enough food to feed
everyone, there is limited access to that food. The Blue Team’s perception of hunger issues, and
ability to effectively reason about hunger in the Pioneer Valley, was greatly enhanced through
the education provided by The Food Bank, the hands on experience of volunteer day, and
through working with the colleges.
The Blue Team holds an abundance of gratitude, as all members are grateful for the opportunity
to provide sustainable support to The Food Bank and assist them with addressing hunger issues
in the Pioneer Valley.
Collaborations with Community Organizations
The Blue Team’s collaboration with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts was coordinated
through Megan Pete, Director of Development and Marketing, and Jerod Shuford, Education
Coordinator. On January 7, 2014, the Blue Team met with Mr. Shuford and Ms. Pete for a tour of
the Food Bank’s distribution center, and to discuss the goals and expectations for the project.
The Blue Team worked with Mr. Shuford and Ms. Pete throughout the development of the
project for feedback and to obtain a better understanding of the Food Bank’s operations.
The Blue Team also collaborated with students who are active in service organizations at
Westfield State University and Holyoke Community College. The Blue Team worked with these
students to organize a volunteer day, during which students helped package food for
distribution and were also educated about food insecurity in the Pioneer Valley. Several
students from each college attended the volunteer day.
The Blue Team is providing a written summary of the Community Engagement Model to the
Food Bank, so that the student volunteer day experience can be replicated at other colleges and
universities in the area. The Team reached out to several local colleges in order to obtain
contact information for faculty and student organizations that focus on community service. This
information will be provided to the Food Bank.
Major Challenges
There were two primary challenges faced by the Blue Team. First, the start and end dates of the
project did not work well with the academic calendar. The project began over winter break, a
time during which it was difficult to get in touch with students and staff at colleges. The student
volunteer day happened during finals, making student recruitment and participation more
difficult.
The second challenge regarded the engagement of students in the project. The members of the
Blue Team had relatively limited access to students at Westfield State University and Holyoke
Community College, and so were reliant on appropriate faculty members or student associations
to support the project. In addition, the logistics of transporting students to the volunteer event
posed a challenge.
Evaluation of Project Impact
The Blue Team believes that their collaboration with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
had high efficacy and served as a model of sustainability for engaging local colleges in food
security issues. Based on conversations with faculty at Westfield State University and Holyoke
Community College, the project has sparked energy on the two campuses. There is currently
discussion about creating programs that provide academic credit for community service. This
indicates that the project raised hunger awareness in the Pioneer Valley.
Next Steps
In order to continue the excellent momentum for collaboration between local universities and
the Food Bank, the Blue Team has identified two next steps. First, using the contact information
provided by the Blue Team, The Food Bank should reach out to other local colleges and
universities in order to replicate the volunteer day efforts undertaken at Westfield State
University and Holyoke Community College. Second, Leadership Pioneer Valley should
incorporate The Food Bank as an organization targeted for class projects. This will allow future
Leadership Pioneer Valley classes to work with The Food Bank and assist with engaging of local
colleges, as well as support them through advocacy and marketing.