GREENFIELD — With food insecurity rising across the state and food pantries seeing their highest number of clients since the pandemic, the public is invited to a fundraising event this weekend to support local pantries.

On Saturday, July 5, at 3 p.m., folks are invited to The LAVA Center at 324 Main St. for Word to Table, a literary fundraiser to benefit the Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantry in Greenfield, the Northampton Survival Center and the Amherst Survival Center. The event will feature published and award-winning poets from the Northeast.

Elizabeth Denny, a Hatfield resident, began Word to Table in 2023 after catastrophic flooding hit the Pioneer Valley’s farms, and she has raised more and more money each year through community events to support local food pantries and farms. She does this in partnership with Bardwell Farm in Hatfield, which supplies food for the pantries.

“Whatever we raise, we’re going to split three ways, and it’s going to benefit the farmer and benefit [the pantries],” Denny said. “When something like [the 2023 flooding] happens, there are resources and there are loans … but usually a farmer needs money right now to fix the tractor, to take care of the field that got flooded out. We don’t have, in this country, a good way to be charitable with a business.”

At the event, attendees will hear from Somerville-based poet Simeon Berry, a winner of the Academy of American Poets Award; James Tate Prize winner Anton Yakovlev; Jaya Tripathi, Olena Jennings and Denny, according to program producer Sean Sutherland, a New York City-based poet who will also read.

“You’re going to have a lot of variety. … It’s all very accessible poetry. We’re not a bunch of grad students trying to be fancy and remote,” Sutherland joked. “It’s a very good lineup for people who aren’t used to going to poetry readings. This is a great lineup for the general public.”

Word to Table raised $3,000 for local food pantries in 2024, which translated to about 7,000 pounds of fresh food, and aims to raise $6,000 this year.

“It’s just been wonderful,” Denny said, adding that the program is also an opportunity for folks to learn about farms and the local food system. “I like this way because it’s very direct. It’s easy, people like it and you can’t go wrong with these three organizations, because they’re wonderful and they need it right now.”

As Word to Table continues to raise money for the local food system, Denny said she is interested in working with other farmers to expand the program even further, as it is “easy to replicate.”

“I want other farmers to get into this as well,” Denny said. “It’s easy to set up and it does not take much time on any part.”

For more information about Word to Table, as well as for a link to buy tickets or donate directly, visit wordtable.betterworld.org. Tickets are $20 online and can also be purchased at the door.

Denny emphasized anyone is welcome, regardless of if they can afford a ticket.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.