While we are all struggling with the challenges of the pandemic, many of our friends and neighbors are just trying to keep food on the table. Everyone needs and deserves a bountiful holiday meal on Christmas. The Chester-Andover Family Center is determined to provide each of our more than one hundred Food Shelf recipients with everything they need to prepare their holiday meal. There are several ways you can participate in this Food Drive.

St. Luke's Christmas Market: Culinary Classics & Crafts to Go! will now be held on the lawn at 313 Main Street in Chester, VT, on Saturday December 5 from 10 AM to 2 PM, with a special time for advance-order pick-up 9:30-10 AM. Increased restrictions because of the coronavirus required thinking outside the box and moving the market outside the church. One-way traffic will make shopping for food and holiday decorations easy and fast. Required social distancing outside and masks will make browsing in person safe.

Happy Holidays! The Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce (OVRCC) is encouraging participation in the first annual Okemo Valley Lights for the holidays. Businesses, municipalities, neighborhoods and residents in the region are asked to make an extra effort to decorate this year to help celebrate the holiday season. Everyone could use more joy this time of year!

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, the Chester-Andover Family Center has continued to provide supplemental, nourishing food for Food Shelf recipients and Financial Assistance to families struggling to make ends meet. This has been made possible through the generous donations of our community and beyond.