By PAT CAHILL
pcahill@rebub.com
There's no greater pleasure than a fine dinner that's worth every penny
- especially when the money will benefit a good cause.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts will present just such a dinner April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield
The name of the fund-raising glaa: "Party with a Purpose." It will include multiple entrées, other gourmet fare,
live music, an auction, commemorative wineglasses and the warm cameraderie that comes with doing good for
others.
Martignettie Companies is donating the wine, Berkshire Brewing Company the beer and Pierce Brothers the coffee.
Tickets to the gala are $100, and all proceeds go to the Food Bank, which serves the needy in all four
counties of Western Massachusetts. The agency distributed more than 6.5 million pounds of food in 2007.
"The amount of food they move in a year is asounding," says Claudio Guerra, owner of Spoleto restaurant
in Northampton and East Longmeadow, and co-chair of Pary for a Purpose.
Guerra's co-chair for the event is Daniel Yacuzzo, owner of the Eastside Grill in Northampton.
Their chefs will be making the dinner for Party for a Purpose.
"It will be high-end, fun, exciting food," says Guerra,
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whose restaurant has served such luminaries as Hillary Clinton and her daugther Chelsea.
Other restuarants that have signed up for the cause include the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, Canyon
Ranch in Lenox, Chandler's Restaurant in Deerfield, the Del Raye Grill in Northampton, The Federal in East
Longmeadow, Max's Tavern and Pazzo in Springfield, Spice in Pittsfield and Northampton-based Pengyew Catering.
"It's a great match," said Guerra. "Here we are in the resstaurant business, and we're helping people
who are hungry and in need of food."
Last year the Food Bank distributed food to 378 soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters and other
assistance centers, and to 79 "Brown Bag Sites" for low-income elders, according to Robin B. Claremont, development
and communications manager at the Food Bank.
"We continue to see increases in demand from our member agencies," says Claremont. "With rising heating,
feul and food costs, more people are living on the edge."
Meeting the immediate need is part of a "two-pronged" approach the Food Bank takes. says Jo Comerford,
director of programs at the Food Bank.
"It's vital that we continue distributing food," says Comerford. "No one should not know where their next
meal is coming from. Nobody should be hungry."
The Food Bank is also dedicated
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If you go
Event: Party for a Purpose
When: April 11, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield
Tickets: $100
For more info:
Call (413) 247-9738 or email meganp@foodbankwma.org
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to a long-term approach, says Comerford. That means finding the root
causes of hunger and coming up with strategies to address them.
Last year the Food Bank embarked on two pilot projects under the rubric "Target Hunger." One is at the
Mason Square community in Springfield and the other in seven Berkshire towns.
For "Target Hunger," the Food Bank offers guidance to local organizations, with a goal of reducing hunger
in the pilot project communities by 10 percentin four years.
Strategies have included the establishment of the Concerned Citizens of Mason Square Farmers Market
last summer, and an upcoming series of "inter-generational" workshops for community residents of all ages.
"The eight workshops are designed to build individual skills around nutrition, cooking, smart shopping,
budgeting and fitness," says Comerford.
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"Party for a Purpose" will include entertainment by the O-Tones, and elegant Florence-based sextet that performs
swing, rhythm-and-blues, bebop and Motown standards.
The festive event will also include and auction brimming with such temptations as tickets to the Red Sox at
Fenway Park, a spa day for two at Canyon Ranch, a Herman Miller designed chair from the Lexington Group,
a day on the Connecticut River followed by dinner catered by Mama Iguanas, and more.
Last time the Food Bank had a gala of these proportions, it marked the opening of its huge new warehouse in
Hatfield, and that's where it took place.
Comerford says she is happy that this year the event is taking place at the Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Fame.
"We feel an intense commitment to all four counties," she says. In fact, Hampden County, where Springfield
is located, received 50 percent of the food distributed last year.
"We're grateful for the opportunity to get closer to folks in Hampden County," says Comerford.
To buy a ticket, become a sponsor or volunteer for Party for a Purpose, call (413) 247-9738 or e-mail
meganp@foodbankwma.org.
Party for a Purpose is sponsored in part by Baystate Health Systems, The Dennis Group, Pioneer Cold,
C&S Wholesale Grocers, The Republican and MassLive.com.
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