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Date: 5/20/2019
FEEDING HILLS – When Feeding Hills business owner Lori Disisto was faced with a cancer diagnosis, her family knew they wanted to step up and help their loved one.
“I have been helping with the business side of things. Lori’s daughter, Taylor has always been her partner in the business. Taylor’s really stepped up her game and is running the restaurant,” Lori’s brother, Bill Disisto shared.
Lori is the owner of Green Leaves To Go, a restaurant specializing in salads, sandwiches and soups. Previously, Lori and Bill’s aunts, Lois Rossi and Rose LaFleur, owned the business. “They were always subletting in small places, but there was a following,” Bill shared.
When Rossi and LaFleur were ready to retire, they were looking to sell Green Leaves To Go to family. That’s when Lori stepped in to run the business. Wanting a larger location, the restaurant was moved to 200 S Westfield St. in Feeding Hills in February.
“It’s a brand new building and the space was empty and three times the size of what [Rossi and LaFleur] were subletting. The expenses were more, but we thought it would be much better,” Bill said.
After just 30 days in the new location, Lori was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Her family has helped operate Green Leaves To Go, ensuring that sandwiches, soups and salads are still prepared for customers in Lori’s absence while she is undergoing treatment.
On June 2 at 2 p.m., the Disisto family will host a benefit for Lori at the Polish American Club, located at 139 Southwick St. in Feeding Hills.
“The benefit is to help pay expenses. [Lori] is going to be headed to Dana Farber in mid-June. She needs to spend about 100 days in Boston and needs a family member with her. The housing and transportation isn’t covered. We’re making sure that she’s not focused on any expenses,” Bill said.
The benefit will feature food, a DJ, a cash bar and raffle prizes. Food offerings will include homemade pasta, chicken cacciatore and salad from Green Leaves To Go.
“Local businesses have donated prizes from televisions to tickets. We have a live DJ as well, so people will hear music at the benefit and we’ll probably do some outdoor activities,” Bill explained.
Bill explained that Green Leaves To Go is known for their signature dishes including their “Brussel Sprout Signature Salad.”
“Our signature dish is the brussel sprout salad. We added it to the regular menu and people are very happy,” Bill said.
With a family of Agawam natives, Bill explained that naming each sandwich after Agawam streets was important. “All of the sandwiches are named after streets in Agawam. It’s all about keeping it local. We are all Agawam natives. We all grew up down near Pajer market,” Bill said.
The family is still seeking raffle donations. To donate, contact Bill at 860-207-3723. A GoFundMe has also been started for donations to Lori’s treatment. To donate via GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/lori039s-fight-against-leukemia.
Tickets to the benefit cost $20 each or $40 for a family. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Lori’s treatment. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event, by calling Bill, or at Green Leaves To Go.
The family is currently celebrating good news. “We recently found out that Lori’s younger sister Debbie is a perfect match on the bone marrow side. She’ll be providing the bone marrow transplant materials for Lori. We’re fortunate that we’re close enough to Dana Farber to have some of the best people doing this,” Bill said.
Bill said he hopes to see the community come together for the benefit. “We’ve been lifelong members of the community and we hope to see people come together just to help somebody in need. It’s hard to ask for help, but at some points, you have to,” Bill said.
For more information on Green Leaves To Go, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/greenleavestogo.