PENTA joins other organizations in support of CHP’s Harvest Home Festival

NORTH GRAFTON _ Each November the local non-profit organization, Community Harvest Project, Inc. (CHP) hosts one of its largest fundraisers of the year, Harvest Home Festival. This event is geared toward the whole family and combines the charm of the Fall season with a fundraiser.

This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014, from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. Registration for the 5K Trail Run is from 9 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., and the run begins at 10:30 a.m. The 1K Kids’ Run begins at 11:45 a.m.

CHP’s mission is to build an engaged and healthier community by bringing volunteers together to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for hunger relief. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 49 million people in the U.S. are struggling to find enough food to eat, and, of that figure, close to 16 million are children.

In Worcester County, over 99,000 people utilize hunger relief services through area food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens. CHP donates high quality fruits and vegetables to hunger relief organizations in the Worcester County Food Bank’s network. Last year, 9,500 community members helped to grow 342,000 lbs. of fresh fruits and vegetables that were donated to hunger relief agencies across Worcester County.

According to Kristin Bafaro, Executive Director of the CHP, the Harvest Home Festival and 5K Trail Run is an annual benefit event intended to bring the community together to visit the farm, celebrate the harvest, raise awareness of the organization’s work, and raise funds to support their operations.

“All proceeds support CHP’s operations. Each year, we bring thousands of volunteers together to grow hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables for hunger relief in Worcester County,” Bafaro said.

Under Bafaro’s leadership, CHP has continued to expand its service over the years, and the organization recently partnered with members of AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) to construct a new greenhouse.

“The addition of this new structure will increase our capacity to grow more produce for hunger relief and improve access to healthy food for more individuals and families across Worcester County,” Bafaro said.

Since CHP’s inception, PENTA Communications, Inc., along with other local community partners, have supported the organization’s mission and its Harvest Home Festival. As a sponsor for the Festival once again, PENTA will join over 30 organizations at this year’s event.

“We are proud to support the efforts of the Community Harvest Project on another successful year of building awareness during its annual Harvest Home Festival,” said Deborah Penta, CEO of PENTA Communications, Inc. “CHP is a wonderful organization that truly epitomizes the essence of what can be accomplished through a dedicated volunteer network, and Kristin Bafaro has done an extraordinary job at raising awareness for the organization and bringing it to the next level.”

The Festival offers a variety of family friendly activities such as: hay rides, an apple cannon, the pumpkin trebucket launching, apple cider press tasting, interactive farm equipment display, bouncy houses, pony rides, children’s arts and crafts, children’s games, alpacas, chainsaw artist Michael Higgins, and many live performances by local talent in the area.

For more information on the CHP’s Harvest Home Festival, 5K Run and Kids’ Run, visit www.community-harvest.org.