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

08:18AM / Sunday, June 22, 2025Print 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.

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Pittsfield Considers Repairing East Part Cemetery

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:57AM / Friday, October 02, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Historical Commission will consider grant opportunities for repairs to East Part Cemetery.

A resident reached out to the city with concerns about degradation in the half-acre burial ground at the top of Williams Street. East Part Cemetery was established in the early 1800s and has about 300 interments.

“It's a nice old cemetery, and basically, (the resident) had had concerns that the stone wall had taken some damage, the gravestones have taken some damage, and was wondering if there's anything that could be done to repair the gravestones and the wall," City Planner Kevin Rayner told the commission on Monday.

In cooperation with cemetery leadership and residents, the Historical Commission will consider applying for Community Preservation Act funds to support repairs. West Part Cemetery, on the other side of Pittsfield, has previously used CPA funds for revitalization work.

The 1080 Williams St. property is owned by the city and managed by the Pittsfield Cemetery Commission. Rayner presented photos of broken and overgrown gravestones, parts of the stone wall collapsing, and knocked-over obelisks.

Some aspects could use general maintenance and restoration, he observed.

According to the Pittsfield Cemetery and Crematory's website, East Part Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground.

In 1842, Nathan Webb's son, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield as a public burying ground, and in 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery. Their action was confirmed by the Berkshire Probate Court.