Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/16/2023
HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Food Pantry at Pioneer Valley Assembly of God will be reaching out for donations for the first time in a long time, said pantry director Laura Gavioli.
She said the Community Development Block Grant which funds them annually gave them a little more than the usual one-year amount, but this time it is meant to stretch over two years, resulting in an effective grant reduction of 45%.
“We have been fully funded for a long time,” Gavioli said. “We’ll need to raise $30,000 a year for the next two years. We have to do our due diligence as well.”
The food pantry serves 40 families a week from more than 14 towns, 35% of whom come in weekly for food. In 2022, the food pantry served 155 families made up of 440 individuals, and gave out 78,000 pounds of food.
Besides the grant, the food pantry receives 10% of its funding through donations from churches and individuals, as well as food donations from 10 area businesses.
“We’re trying to figure out the best way to make this happen, and to get the financing that we need. We’re also reaching out to the businesses that have supported us,” Gavioli said.
Two fundraisers are currently being planned. Huntington quilter Jill Bennett, who has been involved with the food pantry since its inception, has donated a quilt to raffle off in a drawing on Oct. 1.
“We’re going to be doing a bake table at the Huntington Music Series on Aug. 17, and raffle tickets will be available there,” Gavioli said. All proceeds from the bake sale and the raffle will go to the food pantry. Singer-songwriter Faith Rheault will be performing on the Green from 6:30 to 8 p.m., or inside Stanton Hall in case of rain, for the final summer music series concert.
On Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. at Pioneer Valley Assembly of God, 63 Old Chester Rd., Huntington, Chad Donovan-Hall of the Huntington Historical Society will present a slideshow on “The Forgotten Valley,” which features homes and points of interest in Knightville and Indian Hollow lost to the construction of the Knightville Dam. The presentation is free, but donations to the food pantry are encouraged.
Donovan-Hall said new points of interest and topics that have been added to the presentation include the story of Margaret Mulroy, the young woman from Yorkshire, England, who is buried next to Native American doctor Rhoda Rhoades in the Norwich Bridge Cemetery. Also new is the story of Camp Indian Hollow, a Native American-themed summer camp for boys that was in operation from 1935 to 1939.
“I have also added more ‘present day’ photos showing what the areas where the homes that were demolished look like today, and I have added some never before seen photos that were taken of the dam construction while it was in progress,” Donovan-Hall said, adding that there will also be an artifact table on display featuring items from both Knightville and Indian Hollow.
Other events are being considered, as well. Gavioli said the food pantry hasn’t reached out to the communities that it serves in a long time, but with new pastors the Rev. Javier and Diana Melendez in full support, “I feel this is a God-timing thing,” she said.