Market 32 and Price Chopper Launch Drive to Support Local Food Pantries

Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As schools break for summer and access to daily meal programs pause, many families can face a critical gap in reliable nutrition. 
 
To help meet these needs, Market 32 and Price Chopper are launching a summer food drive in all 129 stores across its six-state footprint.
 
From June 15 to July 5, customers can purchase a $10 bag containing PICS brand items that will be donated to a local food pantry. Each bag includes items food banks and pantries need the most, including a 16-ounce package of elbow macaroni, 16-ounce jar of peanut butter, a 10.5-ounce can of chicken noodle soup, 5-ounce can of tuna, 15.5-ounce can of kidney beans, and a 5-ounce can of chunk chicken.
 
Each Market 32 and Price Chopper store team will identify and coordinate directly with a local food pantry in their community that will receive the donated food, allowing shoppers to make an immediate impact and help pantries serve people right in their neighborhoods. The bags will be prominently displayed at the front of each store, accompanied by signage indicating the name of the pantry being supported.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dalton Officials Talk Meters Amidst Rate Increases

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The anticipated rise in the water and sewer rates has sparked discussion on whether implementing meters could help mitigate the costs for residents
 
The single-family water rate has been $160 since 2011, however, because of the need to improve the town's water main infrastructure, prices are anticipated to increase. 
 
"The infrastructure in town is aged … we have a bunch of old mains in town that need to be changed out," said Water Superintendent Robert Benlien during a joint meeting with the Select Board. 
 
The district had contracted Tighe and Bond to conduct an asset management study in 2022, where it was recommended that the district increase its water rates by 5 percent a year over five years, he said. 
 
This should raise enough funds to take on the needed infrastructure projects, Benlien said, cautioning that the projections are a few years old so the cost estimates have increased since then. 
 
"The AC mains, which were put in the '60s and '70s, have just about reached the end of their life expectancy. We've had a lot of problems down in Greenridge Park," which had an anticipated $4 million price tag, he said. 
 
The main on Main Street, that goes from the Pittsfield/town line to North Street, and up through woods to the tank, was priced at $7.6 million in 2022, he said. 
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories