Three Berkshire County Organizations Receive $10,000 Gifts from NBT Bank

Great Barrington, MA (November 16, 2023) – NBT Bank has donated a total of $30,000 to The People's Pantry of Great Barrington, Sheffield Food Assistance Program, and Construct Inc. in the Berkshires as part of the Bank’s commitment to maintain charitable support in the markets served by Salisbury Bank following the merger of Salisbury into NBT in August. Each organization recently received $10,000 from NBT.

“This incredibly generous donation from NBT will significantly impact on our ability to address food insecurity in the community,” said Beth Moser, Board President for The People’s Pantry. “In just the past year, we fed more than 25,000 people – including more than 5,000 children under age 16 and more than 6,000 seniors over age 65. We depend on friends and neighbors to support the work we do.”

Marcia Brolli from the Sheffield Food Assistance Program shared, “Our weekly program has been supplementing food budgets for residents in the Southern Berkshire School District for more than 35 years, and we can only do this with the generosity of community partners such as NBT Bank.”

“Construct is incredibly grateful for the recent gift and the long-term support we received from NBT and the former Salisbury Bank,” said Jane Ralph, Executive Director for Construct, Inc. “As the only southern Berkshire Housing organization that serves our neighbors from homelessness to home ownership, we know that folks at all income levels are struggling to get and sustain homes they can afforded. This gift makes a huge difference in the lives of those we serve. Further, it creates a bridge to a local bank branch that can help them thrive financially.”

“NBT is truly a community bank and our team is dedicated to supporting the important issues in each of the communities we serve,” said Andreas Kapetanopoulos, Connecticut Regional President at NBT Bank. “Both food insecurity and affordable housing remain critical issues in Berkshire County, and these are challenges that NBT can help local partner organizations to address.”

NBT Bank has been serving Berkshire County since 2011 with locations in Great Barrington, Lee, North Adams and Pittsfield. The merger of Salisbury into NBT Bank added a second location in downtown Great Barrington and locations in Sheffield and South Egremont.

NBT Bank’s Andreas Kapetanopoulos (left) presents a check for $10,000 to Beth Moser at The People’s Pantry

(Left to right): Rebecca Schopp from Sheffield Food Assistance, Amanda Goewey and Andreas Kapetanopoulos from NBT Bank, and Marcia Brolli from Sheffield Food Assistance

Jane Ralph from Construct Inc. (left) accepts a $10,000 check from NBT Bank’s Andreas Kapetanopoulos and Amanda Goewey