Nancy Graton said her grandson is already talking about the North Quabbin Food-a-Thon.
The annual fundraiser has gathered $340,000 and a similar number of food items over the past 12 years. Those aren’t normally stats to enthuse an elementary school student, but Graton said the Fisher Hill School gets in on the act every year with a convoy of students marching wagons of donate food down the North Main Street hill to the Orange nexus of the Athol-Orange fundraiser, at the intersection of the four Main streets.
Volunteers will spend all day, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at the lights in downtown Orange and downtown Athol, collecting food and money for local food pantries and meal sites. “It’s a lot of fun, really,” said Graton, one of the organizers. Volunteers are plentiful and local businesses chip in to keep everyone fed and hydrated, she said. The wagon brigade from the elementary school around 10 a.m. is a highpoint, Graton said, eliciting tears from the volunteers every year.
All proceeds go to the Franklin County Community Meals Program, including the Orange Pantry and meal sites, the Wendell Good Neighbors Community Food Program, Our Lady Immaculate Church, the St. Vincent de Paul/St. Mary’s Church pantry and the Salvation Army Food Pantry.
Organizers say the “Food-A-Thon” is a major source of food and funds to keep these pantries and meal sites open, as new households join every month.
The event is heavily promoted and broadcast live all day on WJDF radio and Athol Orange Community Television.
Every dollar buys 5 pounds of food, or helps to distribute it, with $10 covering the maintenance fees for 52 pounds of food at the local food banks.
You can reach Chris Curtis at: ccurtis@recorder.com