Hilltown CDC to celebrate local farms at Fall Annual Meeting
Press Release: October 1, 2019
Chesterfield, MA — Hilltown Community Development invites the public to RSVP for their fall annual meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 5:30-9PM, at the Rabbit Hole Restaurant located in the Fiddlehead Inn, 144 Huntington Rd, Worthington, MA. The event will showcase new partnerships with local farms in promoting local agriculture and improving food access in the Hilltowns through the Hilltown Mobile Market, as well as many other community development projects currently supported by the organization. Dinner and evening entertainment will be provided. Seating is limited and attendees should RSVP online at www.hilltowncdc.org by Oct 12.
Hilltown CDC was proud to partner with Healthy Hampshire and the Hilltown Community Health Center to launch a new Hilltown Mobile Market this summer, a 10-week “pop-up” farmers’ market in Worthington and Huntington offering fresh, affordable, Hilltown-grown produce to local residents. “The market was not an easy program to launch with many administrative and regulatory hurdles,” explained Executive Director Dave Christopolis. “But we have a very dedicated team of staff and community partners committed to improving access to healthy local food in our community and supporting our local agricultural economy. Hilltown residents were incredibly supportive. It was an inspiring success that we look forward to expanding next year.”
This year’s Annual Meeting will honor the Hilltown producers who supplied high-quality vegetables to the pilot program and will feature Hilltown-grown ingredients on the locally-sourced dinner menu catered by the Rabbit Hole Restaurant at the Fiddlehead Inn.
“The past year has included many highlights in working towards our mission to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents while preserving the rural character of the area” says Christopolis. Hilltown CDC’s partnership with the Southern Hilltown Adult Education Center continues to strengthen with the assistance of the US Small Business Administration and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. The CDC also partnered with two other area CDCs on a $120,000 grant to secure more training, technical assistance and professional development opportunities for small business owners in Western Mass.
The Housing Rehabilitation program continues to thrive; this past year the program provided 17 zero-interest deferred-payment loans totaling over $479,000 to homeowners to make needed repairs to their homes. The program also recently benefited from an increase in federal income eligibility limits allowing more moderate-income families to apply to the program. The Housing Rehabilitation program is open to residents in the towns of Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Peru, Plainfield, Williamsburg and Worthington. It is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Town of Chesterfield and has recently been renewed for another fiscal year.
Other projects funded by the Community Development Block Grant include the Hilltown Elder Network (HEN) and Health Outreach Program for Elders (HOPE), providing in-home chore and medical services to seniors in nine towns, and the Hilltown Food Pantry in Goshen. A new partnership with It Takes A Village will expand the Childcare Subsidy program to help offset the cost of childcare for working families as well as provide parent workshops and in-home support for new parents. The CDBG Grant this past year also funded a feasibility study for a new Senior/Community Center in Worthington which is currently in its final stages.
Hilltown CDC continues to provide many other services to Hilltown residents and municipalities with funding from private donors and assistance through the MA Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program. These include offering demand-response transportation to shopping centers and medical appointments for seniors through the Hilltown Easy Ride Van, and support for a strategic partnership with the Hilltown Arts Alliance to boost the local creative economy through the annual Hilltown Open Studio Tour. The arts event was held successfully this past June for the second year in a row showcasing 29 working artists in 24 studios across five towns, all in single weekend. Other projects included preparing a multi-town climate change resilience plan through the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant program, providing business and technical assistance to two prominent small grocery stores in the Hilltowns, and improving ADA accessibility in municipal buildings and programs through the Mass Office on Disability.
Hilltown Community Development looks forward to sharing more details about these projects and partnerships and sharing plans for additional economic development initiatives in the Hilltowns at their Annual Meeting this year. Those interested in attending should RSVP by October 12 by visiting www.hilltowncdc.org or calling 413-296-4536 x 112.
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Hilltown Community Development is a private non-profit organization in rural western Massachusetts working to support rural development and prosperity in the region by improving housing, strengthening social services, leveraging funding, and stimulating the local economy. Since 1981 we have invested over $50 million in community development projects benefiting Hilltown residents, helping over 2,000 local businesses start and grow, rehabilitating 775 homes, building 70 new affordable homes and apartments, and providing social services to families and seniors in our community. To learn more about our work visit www.hilltowncdc.org.