Letter Carrier Food Drive Results

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. - On May 9th residents of Berkshire County donated 53,881 pounds of non-perishable food in the countywide National Association of Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive. By the end of the day, all the food had been redistributed to over 28 food pantries and meal-sites throughout the Berkshires. Local 286 letter carrier Mike Callahan, Shirley MacDonald of Berkshire Community Action Council, and Maryanne Boenitz of the Berkshire United Way were coordinators for the drive.

Pittsfield volunteers included letter carriers, active and retired postal workers and their family members and 30 high school students from Berkshire Youth United along with their advisor Ralph "Doc" Casey. In-kind donations included cardboard boxes from Poly-Matrix, a moving truck from Tailored Events and pizza from Pizza Hut.

29,594 pounds of food from the drive were distributed to the following sites in Pittsfield and Dalton: Barton's Crossing, Christian Center, Dalton Sunday Lunch Program, Salvation Army, St. Joseph's Church, St. Agnes Church, Lanesboro American Legion  VFW, St. Mark's Parish, St. Joseph's Kitchen at South Church, First Baptist Church,  First Congregation Church/Hinsdale, Soldier On, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Reigning Love Church, Christian Assembly Food Pantry, Goodwill Industries of the Berkshires, St. Charles Church, and Berkshire Community Action Council.  In addition, 24,287 pounds of food were distributed in Northern and Southern Berkshire County.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building. 

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu. 

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building. 

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.  

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns. 

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot. 

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use. 

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