As the COVID-19 pandemic persists and residents struggle to cope with the difficulties of isolation, the towns of Worthington and Cummington are working together to assist people with emergency resources.
Volunteers from the two towns are now offering support with food assistance and prescription pickups for those in need.
With help from the Survival Center and the Hilltown Food pantry in Goshen, a new temporary food pantry has been established in Worthington at the R.H. Conwell School with prepacked bags of groceries available for residents facing food insecurity.
“It’s going really well,” Worthington Select Board Chairman Charlie Rose said. “I think we have about 30 to 40 people coming to the pantry now.”
The Worthington pantry will remain open during the pandemic so that residents in need do not have to travel as far to get food and to ease the demand at the other food pantry locations.
Rose said that one bag per resident is available every two weeks and can be picked up on Thursdays between 1 and 1:30 p.m.
Deliveries can also be arranged by calling or texting 413-238-1999, or emailing relief@worthington-ma.us before 10 a.m. on Thursdays.
In addition to the temporary food pantry, the Rabbit Hole restaurant in Worthington is offering meals for Worthington and Cummington residents in need during the pandemic.
With groceries being provided by a group of local donors, the Rabbit Hole is preparing food for curbside pickup on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m., and deliveries can also be arranged. Meals can be reserved by calling or texting 413-238-1625 before 11 a.m. on Mondays or Thursdays.
The Cummington Area CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is partnering with local volunteers to create a Community Help Network. Volunteers can pick up prescriptions in the Northampton or Pittsfield area and will deliver them to your door.
Email cummingtoncertcvhelp@gmail.com to make a request or call Sarah at 413-634-5452.
The Plainfield Mutual Support Network, a volunteer group whose members include the Council on Aging and Plainfield Cares, are at the ready to help residents through the COVID-19 crisis.
The group is connecting people in need of assistance with those who can lend a hand and is working to identify and meet community needs during the coronavirus crisis.
Assistance may include shopping, prescription pickup, companionship phone calls or visits in line with social distancing protocols, online tutoring for children, emergency food aid, and other needs as they arise.
The network is providing online forms for those who want to offer of help and those requesting services. These forms can be found on the town’s website at www.plainfield-ma.us
Residents may also call 413-634-1030 to receive assistance, to volunteer help or to get additional information about the network.
The Williamsburg tree warden and Planning Board will hold a hearing on Monday April 20 at 7 p.m. via conference call. The board will review requests to remove a 22.5-diameter sugar maple at 9 North St., as well as consider the pruning and removal of trees between 33 and 35 Village Hill Road to support the laying of a sewer line.
All trees to be removed have been marked. To participate in this teleconference, call 1-844-854-2222, access no. 754749#.
Ideas for this column on life in the hilltowns can be sent to Fran Ryan at fryan.gazette@gmail.com.