Berkshire Food Project Serves Early Thanksgiving Dinner

Volunteers serve up turkey and all the fixings at the annual Berkshire Food Project Thanksgiving dinner.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Berkshire Food Project served Thanksgiving dinner to well more than 100 community members who may not have a place to go on the holidays.

Volunteers served turkey, stuffing, and other accoutrements necessary for a proper Thanksgiving feast Monday night at First Congregational Church.

Berkshire Food Project Executive Director Valerie Schwarz said there is a need for this dinner in the community.

"I think there are a lot of folk who are single, lonely, or older and these people, the majority of them, eat here all of the time," Schwarz said. "This is maybe their only Thanksgiving meal and then we are open tomorrow so they get to have leftovers."

Schwarz said preparation starts weeks before the actual dinner. Sixteen turkeys were donated and cooked, four and half bushels of Florida Mountain turnips were mashed along with a couple hundred pounds of potatoes. She said the various pies were donated by the Williamstown Congregational Church, which held its Great Pie Palooza on Sunday.

Schwarz said there are always volunteers for the dinner. People from the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and its UNITY program, MountainOne Bank, Berkshire Food Project board members, Williams College students, as well as other community members were involved this year.

"It is a group effort, and it is definitely is a community event," she said. "We have a great community, and we never have an issue with volunteers. We always have we are blessed in that area."

Volunteer Pam Coons said she thinks the event is important and that it has helped her get to know the community.

"I just recently moved to the neighborhood, and I wanted to get connected to the community," Coons said. "My mom is one of the directors so she said if I had any free time, I should come down. So I figured I would help out. It is very import especially around the holidays."

Travis Ciempa is part of UNITY (United, Neighboring, Interdependent, Trusted Youth) and volunteered with his brother and friend.

"They asked us at our last meeting if we wanted to come help, and I said 'sure it sounds like fun,'" Ciempa said. "I think it is really important. I did a soup kitchen when I went on a mission, and I just loved it so much so I thought I would come here tonight."

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