Cedar Chest Partners with Grow Food Northampton to Battle Hunger

NORTHAMPTON — For the fourth year in a row, Grow Food Northampton (GFN) and Cedar Chest, the anchor store in Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton, announced their partnership to fight hunger in Northampton.

Cedar Chest is conducting the “Give $10, Get $10” campaign to raise funds for GFN’s SNAP Match program. At GFN’s year-round farmers markets, Tuesday market, and winter market, the SNAP Match program doubles SNAP users’ benefits so they are able to buy healthy local foods at the farmers markets, with the idea that everyone, no matter their income level, should be able to eat nutrient-dense produce and other products from local farms.

Figures for 2025 show that hunger is steeply on the rise in Massachusetts. More than one in three households in Western Mass. does not have enough food to eat, and 67% of those households report having at least one chronic health condition. Eating adequate amounts of healthy local food regularly is shown to improve health and well-being, and the SNAP Match program is key for many Northampton households to ensure they are consuming a healthful diet.

Launched on June 15, the “Give $10, Get $10” promotion allows Cedar Chest customers to donate $10 to Grow Food Northampton’s SNAP Match program and, in turn, receive a $10 gift card to spend at Cedar Chest. Customers can just stop in at Cedar Chest to make the donation and get a gift card in return.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Grow Food Northampton for a fourth year,” Cedar Chest co-owner Alex Feinstein said. “The ‘Give $10, Get $10’ campaign is a simple but powerful way for our customers to support food access and local farms while shopping local. It’s a win-win-win: people in need get fresh local food through the SNAP Match program, our community’s farms thrive, and Cedar Chest customers get rewarded for giving. In times like these, partnerships like this one remind us that local businesses can play a meaningful role in creating a more just and resilient community.”

Added Alisa Klein, co-executive director of Grow Food Northampton, “with hunger growing every day in Northampton and beyond, this partnership with Cedar Chest is a jewel in the crown of this caring community. With the ‘Give $10, Get $10’ promotion, everyone can play a role in ensuring that all members of our community have enough to eat and our local farms are supported to continue to feed our community for the long term.”