CHICOPEE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - In the dead of winter, soup kitchens across the state are sharing their struggles. Western Mass News got answers after one local pantry addresses their needs, and how federal and local leaders are trying to provide a helping hand.

“Come here any day at four o’clock and you’ll see the line. Come here during the day, and see the pantry as people keep coming because they’re really struggling with all of the other expenses in their life,” said Chicopee Mayor John Vieau.

At Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen in Chicopee, the need for assistance is growing by the day. Kim Caisse, the Executive Director at the pantry, says that the crisis intensified when federal nutrition benefits were cut, “so, those numbers are staggering. And during the shutdown of SNAP benefits, our numbers were almost tripled,” Caisse said.

Nearly 100,000 people across the Baystate now face losing food assistance because of the Trump Administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Congressmen Jim McGovern and Richard Neal describe that outcome as unacceptable, “I think food ought to be viewed as a fundamental human right. And we ought to be ashamed that we have hungry kids who go to school on Mondays,” McGovern said.

Caisse, who sees families in need of meals day in and day out, shedding a light on the situation, and shed some tears, “we have so many families with young kids that come in here looking for food and a dinner at night.”

So, while the congressmen continue their persuasion efforts on capitol hill, Lorraine’s will continue to make a difference in the fight against hunger.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.