The donations arrived in the colorful donation boxes created by local schoolchildren.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City workers delivered the results of this year's annual food drive to help support local families in need.
Volunteers at the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry were on hand early Monday morning to take accept the boxes of canned and packaged goods.
The annual drive collects nonperishable foods from the North Adams Public Schools, City Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, Spitzer Center and the library. Organized through the public schools, the food drive started with the opening of the Friendship Center Pantry on Eagle Street in 2011. Schoolchildren decorated the boxes set out for public donations.
Mark Rondeau, one of the founders of the food pantry with the late Al Nelson, said the donation was welcome as the pantry had seen a small spike in the number of families it serves weekly beginning in October that's averaging higher than last year.
"It's very, very important. It shows the community support we get," he said, recalling how former Mayor Richard Alcombright had started the drive. "We got off to a very busy November and we're going to be open this Wednesday. So, you know, this helps us meet the increased need.
Families and individuals can go to the pantry on Eagle Street twice a month, or every other Wednesday. Rondeau said it served close to 1,000 family units a month in North Adams, Clarksburg and Florida, although he estimated 95 percent are from North Adams.
The pantry accepts donations of cash and supplies.
"We can always use peanut butter and soup and things like canned vegetables are always good," Rondeau said. "Personal care items for people, we give those out, too. They are not covered by SNAP."
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Local Soccer Enthusiasts Look to Compete in Iceland Tournament
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
The members of the Stateline Strikers team are raising funds to compete in a tournament in Iceland this November.
CANAAN, N.Y. — A group of area women, including some self-described "soccer moms" are preparing to take their game on the road — and across the ocean.
This November, the small team of soccer enthusiasts are aiming to compete in "Wurth Iceland," a six-on-six tournament that bills itself as "fun and football" and brings teams from around the world to the Land of Fire and Ice.
"I've actually been part of this adventure previously," Yessica Soriano of Lanesborough, Mass., said recently. "I played in the tournament six or seven years ago.
"It was lovely. I had never had the opportunity to travel internationally to play soccer until this came about. It was a great experience going there with other women who enjoyed playing the sport — not just women but soccer moms."
For about a year, Soriano has been enjoying the beautiful game with a different group of like-minded women who get together on Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of the Columbia County Women's Soccer League.
The group plays on Tuesdays at the Fieldhouse in Canaan and on Thursdays at Crellin Community Park in Chatham.
The league was founded in the summer of 2023 by Melanie Snyder, a resident of the eastern New York county who founded Tri-State Psychotherapy Group in Pittsfield, Mass.
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