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North Adams Employees Collect 816 Pounds of Food for Pantry

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's annual holiday food drive resulted in more than 800 pounds of food delivered to the Friendship Center Food Pantry on Friday morning.

The collection, coordinated by Ellen Sutherland, assistant to the superintendent, included all city departments and City Hall, and the schools. Sutherland said one class at Johnson School made it part of their community service project.

City custodians led by Director of School Facilities Matt Neville picked up and delivered the 816 pounds of cans and boxes from around the city.

Mayor Richard Alcombright said it was with efforts like this that "you become very proud of the schools and the city employees."

"The food pantry is very important to community," he said. "There is  a real need out there and it helps service a need."

The pantry moved earlier this year into larger quarters next to its old location on Eagle Street to accommodate the number of people it services.

The pantry's Richard Davis said the center provides nonperishable food to about 350 families and households a month.

The Friendship Center Food Pantry also accepts check donations; send to  45 Eagle St., North Adams, MA 01247.

"About 75 percent our food comes from the Food Bank, the Western Mass Food Bank," Davis said. "The other 25 percent is from donations."

Green said, "every once in awhile someone wonders in with a bag of groceries."

Last year, it distributed nearly 300,000 pounds of food to more than 3,000 individuals.

"The need is not just a seasonal one," said Herb Wilkinson, another volunteer. "Folks lose sight of the spring and summer. The need still exists."

Alcombright encouraged people to think of the less fortunate during sales like Big Y's frequent buy one, get one or more free.

"Keep one for yourself, maybe put one away — and give the other to the food pantry."

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