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Food Pantry Director Carol DeMayo cuts through a 'ribbon' of lottery tickets held by division General Manager Jeff Cutting, left, store manager David Richards and regional manager Thomas Coplack.

Cumberland Farms' Reopening Benefits Food Pantry

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Jeff Cutting exhorts customers to drink up for the food pantry as Carol DeMayo and marketing manager Kate Ngo hold the chart that will mark progress to the $1,000 donation goal.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — They forgot to bring the ribbon on the long drive from Framingham for the formal reopening of the Cumberland Farms on Main Street. So, chain-store representatives put their heads together came up with suitable substitute: A length of lottery tickets.

After all, there was a little luck (and a fast response by the Fire Department) involved that prevented the building from going up in flames nine months ago, and pushing it to the front of the line in the chain's ongoing renovation of its 600 stores.

The reopening was also a bit of luck for the Williamstown Food Pantry, which found itself on the receiving end of the store's community program. Every single soda, Chill Zone beverage or coffee sold over the next four weeks means another 20 cents toward the pantry.

Those funds will be greatly appreciated, said Carol DeMayo, director of the pantry, on Monday.

"After Thanksgiving, our shelves were bare," she said. "The women who work there were panicked."

Since then, the pantry's received a number of donations including a windfall in the form of $5,400 from First Baptist Church from the 2007 sale of its parsonage, said DeMayo. "It was completely unexpected and filled us with joy."

The chain usually holds a fundraiser each time it opens or reopens a store as a way to give back to the community, said Kate Ngo, marketing manager. That's tended to be local high schools but "we knew the food pantry was in the greatest need."

The goal is to raise $1,000 over the four weeks, but there's an opportunity to make more, said Gwen Forman, vice president of marketing. "We don't cut it off at $1,000; the donations keep going to the food pantry."


Even with the recent donations, the money's desperately needed as demands on the pantry have grown as the economy went south.

DeMayo said the money raised would likely go toward purchasing meat, the most needed item. The pantry serves primarily Williamstown residents, along with Hancock, New Ashford and Pownal, Vt. It especially tries to help the elderly and young children, and offers some contributions toward health needs, such as prescriptions, she said.


Cutting, Richards and Town Manager Peter Fohlin pose with a town proclamation recognizing Cumberland Farms.
"We're very proud of our Williamstown store," said Jeff Cutting, division general manager of Cumberland Farms, adding "This is a great chance at this time of year to help out the community. Please come in and buy a lot and help out the food pantry."

Along with the improvised ribbon cutting, the store was presented by Town Manager Peter Fohlin with a proclamation from the Selectmen congratulating it on reopening and recognizing it as "a valuable member of the Williamstown business community."

The renovated 24-hour convenience store actually opened a few weeks ago and offers more varieties of food-to-go, including hot and cold sandwiches, franks, salads, fruit, a coffee bar and other beverages.

"People love it," said store manager David Richards. "I haven't heard anything bad."

Donations may be sent to Williamstown Food Pantry, 54 Southworth St., Williamstown, MA 01267 and are tax-deductible.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
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