Harvest House V nets bounty for needy Valley families

(Peter Casolino — New Haven Register) Jack Walsh, President of the Valley United Way thanks the volunteers as they prepare to take a photo at the Harvest House V on the Riverwalk in Shelton. The items will go to Valley nonprofits that feed the needy.

By Patricia Villers, New Haven Register

Posted: 09/30/13, 6:20 PM EDT 

SHELTON >> Non-profit organizations that feed the Valley’s needy Monday reaped the benefits from the Valley United Way’s Harvest House V.
Donated food in a 400-square-foot structure alongside the Shelton Riverwalk was distributed to several agencies.
Carpentry students from Emmett O’Brien Technical High School in Ansonia built the house inside the year-old Derby-Shelton Rotary Club Pavilion.
The pavilion was dedicated in September 2012. Harvest House is a biannual event, and the pavilion was not there at the Harvest House IV in 2011.
Valley United Way President Jack Walsh said the structure was completed much more quickly than in the past. “The pavilion made a big difference,” he said. “Everything seemed to go much faster.”
Walsh and Pat Tarasovic, Valley United Way Corporate Volunteer Council director, both thanked Prudential for its support. Prudential was the marquee sponsor for the event.
Tarasovic said constructing Harvest House “is part of our Week of Caring for the Corporate Volunteer Council.”
She said this year saw the most food ever collected. “Hundreds of people came out here Saturday” to help, she said. “It’s very important to CVC to make a difference in the Valley community.”
Walsh said “hundreds and hundreds” of photos and videos were taken of construction and during the weekend festival. Volunteers were treated to live music, magic, a pancake breakfast, and more.
He said the photos are posted on the Valley United Way’s web site and Facebook page.
Students from Emmett O’Brien will return Tuesday to take down the house. Walsh said a cookout will be held to thank them for their work.
One of the organizations benefitting from Harvest House V is the Parent-Child Resource Center. “This is wonderful,” said CEO Michael Wynne said as he took boxes of pasta off the shelves.
PCRC parent educator Patricia Colon was helping Wynne get the food. It was the first time she had been to Harvest House.
“It’s so amazing to see how everybody comes together for the Valley community,” she said. “It’s great to see the outpouring of help.”
Liz Holcomb, director of operations at ACT/Spooner House in Shelton, expressed gratitude for the food. “We‘re so fortunate.” She said Spooner House serves 8,000 to 11,000 meals a month.
“I would encourage people to give to their local United Way,” Holcomb said. “You’re feeding strangers.”
Later Monday a flurry of activity was visible at St. Vincent De Paul Helping Hands of the Valley in Derby as volunteers stocked food bank shelves.
Manager Cindy Barbian also expressed gratitude. “We got a lot more this year,” she said. “Harvest House is a blessing. The community really came together this time.”
Barbian said the phone has been ringing off the hook, with people seeking food assistance. “We’ve been packing groceries for six families a day, five days a week,” she said. “It’s hard when they come in and we have nothing to give them.”
Barbian said the need is never-ending, and she and director Sandi Bailie soon will be packing bags of food for clients for Thanksgiving.
 

 (Peter Casolino — New Haven Register) Mike Wynne and Patricia Colon collect items that will be brought back to the Parent Child Resource Center (in Derby) at the Harvest House V on the Riverwalk in Shelton. 


 
  
While there this morning I took a few photos as well:

I was impressed with the neatly stacked shelves.

 The morning was picture perfect. Pumpkins are photogenic, aren't they?

The Valley United Way offered plenty to do at the celebration over the weekend.


Congratulations go out to the Valley United Way and to all who contributed to the success of this worthwhile event!

Harvest House V in Shelton to help feed Valley needy

SHELTON - Harvest House will be built Saturday and Sunday at the Riverwalk, 100 Canal St.

Valley United Way’s Harvest House is a biannual festival during which a 400-square-foot house is constructed out of shelves and filled with more than 100,000 nonperishable food items.
The food that is collected is distributed to food banks serving Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Shelton, and Oxford.

This year marks its fifth year and as a result of the past four Harvest Houses, over a million meals have been provided to Valley families in need.
Harvest House is compared to a classic barn raising in that it utilizes the collective action of the community for the common good.
Families in need, in turn, are able to thrive rather than go hungry.
This is a festival where people can do something good for the community and have fun at the same time.

Activities for all ages
This year’s Harvest House will feature even more events than before.
There are lots of great activities for all such as a visit from animal friends from the Beardsley Zoo, face painting, arts and crafts, a comedy magic show, touch a truck, moon bounce, hula hoops, karate, dance, fitness and acting performances, Cub Scout Olympics, and live music.
A “CAN”tastic Construction Competition will be held where teams can enter structures built out of non-perishable food items.

The Girl Scouts, Liquid Lunch, and the Shelton and Valley volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps will be serving a Hot Diggity Dog and Harvest Soup Supper as well as a Pancake Breakfast. Learn more about Harvest House at www.valleyunitedway.org.



This is taken from a press release from Valley United Way. 

Plans in the works for Harvest House V in Shelton next month

Valley United Way Volunteer Center Director Pat Tarasovic, fourth from left, and volunteers announce upcoming Harvest House V project in Shelton. / Photo from Valley United Way website

By Patricia Tarasovic

Director, Volunteer Center

Valley United Way

SHELTON - Thursday marked the official “Fifty Day” mark until we build Harvest House V. 

Harvest House is a bi-annual effort in its 10^th year that is organized by the Valley United Way Corporate Volunteer Council.

A 400 square-foot house is constructed and filled with more than 100,000 nonperishable food items in an effort to stock Valley-based food banks serving the Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton. 

Harvest House V is scheduled for Sept. 28 and 29 on the Shelton Riverwalk.

Student teams from Emmett O’Brien Technical High School’s computer-aided drafting and design and carpentry departments help plan and construct the structures of the Harvest House, in which the donated food is held.

Make a difference in the towns in which you work and live. Join hundreds of corporate volunteers working towards making a collective impact in the Valley community. 

Volunteers have an opportunity to: organize food drives, serve on committees supporting the event, foster corporate team-building initiatives and most importantly, help local families in need.

Organize a food drive, donate coupons, or volunteer your time and your voice to help make this project a success. 

 Nonperishables are needed. All food collected will be distributed to local pantries in the Valley towns. 

For information or suggestions please contact me 203- 926-9478 or at patricia.tarasovic@valleyunitedway.org.
To view past Harvest Houses and learn more visit www.valleyunitedway.org.

This post is a lightly edited press release.