Local Restaurants Unite to Fight Food, Fuel Insecurity
GREENFIELD — Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV) announced the return of Eat Up for Heat Up, a week-long dining event running Jan. 25-31, during which time local restaurants across Franklin and Hampshire counties will donate a portion of their proceeds to help keep their neighbors fed, warm, supported, and connected this winter. Comprehensive information can be found at www.communityaction.us/eat-up-for-heat-up.
Eat Up for Heat Up is a partnership between CAPV — an anti-poverty agency serving more than 28,000 people navigating poverty annually — and restaurants throughout the region. Each participating restaurant has selected one day during the event week to donate a portion of that day’s proceeds to the Clare Higgins Fund for Community Resilience.
Participating restaurants include Hope & Olive (Greenfield) on Jan. 25; Terrazza (Greenfield), Notch 8 Grille (Northampton), the Tunnel Bar (Northampton), Protocol (Amherst), Fitzwilly’s Restaurant & Bar (Northampton), and Miss Florence Diner (Florence) on Jan. 26; Local Burger (Northampton) and Johnny’s Tavern (Amherst) on Jan. 27; the People’s Pint (Greenfield), Amherst Oyster Bar (Amherst), and HighBrow Wood Fired Kitchen + Bar (Northampton) on Jan. 28; Progression Brewing Co. (Northampton) on Jan. 29; Miss Flo’s Pizzeria (Florence) and Paul & Elizabeth’s (Northampton) on Jan. 30; and India House (Northampton) and Eastside Grill (Northampton) on Jan. 31.
CAPV operates food pantries and administers fuel assistance programs, both of which have been significantly impacted by recent federal funding challenges. With 23 locations across the region — including Northampton, Amherst, Greenfield, Turners Falls, and Easthampton — CAPV works every day to ensure that its neighbors who live with low incomes have access to opportunity and that no one goes without food or heat.
Clare Higgins, CAPV’s recently retired executive director, dedicated her career to ensuring that every person in Franklin and Hampshire counties, regardless of income or circumstance, has access to opportunity, voice, and respect. Her decades of service shaped CAVP’s work around dignity, fairness, and community-led change. Eat Up for Heat Up celebrates her vision of stronger, more just, and more connected communities. The goal is to raise $500,000 for the Clare Higgins Fund for Community Resilience by March 31 to honor Higgins’s leadership while securing the future of services the community depends on.
Eat Up for Heat Up sponsors include National Grid, Applied Mortgage, Keiter Builders, and UMassFive College Federal Credit Union.