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Local chefs aimed to give out more than 300 free Thanksgiving dinners on Monday with the 17th annual Berkshire Food Project Thanksgiving Dinner.

Local Chefs Serve Free Thanksgiving Dinner

Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Volunteers of all ages helping the Berkshire Food Project expected to serve more than 300 Thanksgiving meals on Monday night.

 
 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Last year, local chefs joined the  Berkshire Food Project's community Thanksgiving and increased the amount of meals served by 100.

But  they were not done and aimed to raise it even more this year. Chefs from Gala Restaurant, Gramercy Bistro, the Williams Inn, Wild Oats Community Market and Green River Farms catering served hundreds of free meals on Monday evening at First Congregational Church.

"People always send money thousands of miles away to help solve hunger but they don't look out their back door," said chef Chris Bonnivier of Gala Restaurant, who brought his fellows chefs along for the second year. "This is for the community to come together and to spread awareness. It's for people who don't need it to sit and break bread with the people who do."

With hundreds of pounds of food at the ready, the chefs and volunteers began serving at 5 p.m. and, only a half-hour later, 130 people had been  fed and the doors were still open. Anybody who wanted the meal could walk in and get one. The volunteers even had a new serving and busing staff: members of the Williams College football team.


"I just felt it was a great opportunity to get my guys out to do some community service," Williams College head coach Aaron Kelton said. "It's a chance for the community to meet my guys. They read about us every weekend and now they can say they met us."

Kelton said 12 of his players, three coaches and his wife all volunteered for it.

The Berkshire Food Project Thanksgiving Dinner has been served for 17 years, headed by project manager Valerie Schwarz, but this is the second year the chefs have helped out. Schwarz typically held the dinner at noon but with the extra help, the volunteers now serve it in the evening to accommodate more people.

"All the chefs were happy for allowing us to come along," Bonnivier said.
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Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for a seat on the Select Board in May. 
 
Colton Andrews, Seth Alexander and Bryana Malloy returned papers by Wednesday's deadline to run for the three-year term vacated by Jeffrey Levanos. 
 
Andrews ran unsuccessfully for School Committee and is former chairman of the North Adams Housing Authority, on which he was a union representative. He is also president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council.
 
Malloy and Alexander are both newcomers to campaigning. Malloy is manager of industrial relations for the Berkshire Workforce Board and Alexander is a resident of Gates Avenue. 
 
Alexander also returned papers for several other offices, including School Committee, moderator, library trustee and the five-year seat on the Planning Board. He took out papers for War Memorial trustee and tree warden but did not return them and withdrew a run for Board of Health. 
 
He will face off in the three-year School Committee seat against incumbent Cynthia Brule, who is running for her third term, and fellow newcomer Bonnie Cunningham for library trustee. 
 
Incumbent Ronald Boucher took out papers for a one-year term as moderator but did not return them. He was appointed by affirmation in 2021 when no won ran and accepted the post again last year as a write-in.
 
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