To the Editor:

This is what I had to say at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gathering Hope Food Pantry.

When I reflect on this past year and a half’s journey, I am reminded of Margaret Mead’s observation: Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

We are celebrating today the opening of the Gathering Hope Food Pantry — a pantry that began with a conversation in the Knox Reformed Church Hall and has grown to the opening of this valuable resource for the Hilltown communities. The community support of Gathering Hope has been exceptional and heartwarming.

The renovation process, coordinated by Tom Burgess, began in January of 2025. Supported by generous donations of individuals, groups, and businesses, the work was completed almost exclusively by volunteers. These dedicated volunteers shared their talents and their time generously, willingly, and with grace. Many of you are here today.

Our renovation process was jumpstarted with a grant from the Albany County Legislature, followed by a very generous grant by Home Depot. Thank you to Bianca Delamarter of Home Depot and County Legislator Jeff Perlee for their advocacy and support.

We hit a bump in the road in September. After completing the renovation process to a point where we felt ready to shift our status from pending to being an active member of the Regional Food Bank, we were made aware that due to the cuts in federal funding, the Regional Food Bank had frozen all new and pending application indefinitely.

Big bump in the road — we had put all of our effort and most of our money into the renovation. We had $1,000 in our account.

Enter 100 (actually 271 wonderful) Women Who  Care.  Their incredibly generous grant allowed us to replace the floor, stock our shelves, and to open on Oct. 21 with confidence that we could remain open.  We were fortunate to partner with Helderberg Mountain Brewing Company and Black Mountain Symphony on Oct. 19 for our very successful Miles for Meals Race and Block Party Fundraiser.

These two events, together with the generosity of many individual donors, provided us the base for moving forward with our mission to provide food for our neighbors in need.

To date, we have registered 107 clients and last week we distributed 22 Thanksgiving meal boxes. We have received over 4,310 pounds of food and non-food donations. A very generous donation of 220 pounds of turkey from the American Legion in Altamont supported our Thanksgiving meal distribution. 

Donations from the Delmar Presbyterian Church, the Berne Reformed Church, and the Knox Thompson Lake Church have stocked our shelves. Many, many individuals have donated food to help us stock our shelves and have volunteered their time to help us staff the pantry. It truly takes a village to establish and run a pantry.

We would like to recognize and thank the East Berne Fire Department who hosted a Regional Food Bank Distribution event a few weeks ago. Two-hundred-and-seventy-five bags of food were distributed that day and the remaining food was divided up between our pantry, the Hilltowns Community Resource Center, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District and the Rock Road Community Storehouse.

We look forward to strengthening our partnerships with our sister pantries up here on the Hill. 

We would also like to thank the Knox Fire Department for its ongoing support of the community and the Gathering Hope Food Pantry. 

We would also like to recognize our amazing board: Becky and Greg Town, co-pastors of the Knox Thompson Lake Reformed Church; Tom Burgess; Lisa Maceyak; Deirdre Keating; Lisa Ferrucci; Jen Mizener.

We also thank Emelyn Town for her artistic contribution, painting the murals.

Lastly, I would encourage you to visit our website, gatheringhopefoodpantry.org, and to follow us on Facebook. Our website has a wealth of information about us, our mission, and upcoming events.

The pantry is open Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon; Thursday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m.; and the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to noon.

Christmas meals are available; come in to register by Dec. 12, then pick up your meals on Tuesday, Dec 16, or Thursday, Dec. 18. 

Maryellen Gillis

Helderberg Family and

Community Organization