Path Resorts donates over 1,000 items to local food pantry

MOULTONBOROUGH — Throughout the pandemic and recent economic turmoil, food pantries have been a vital glue holding communities together across the country. Despite rising food prices, the donations keep coming.

This year, Lakes Region-based Path Resorts donated 1,004 food items to the Agape food pantry.

“Basically, we looked at what people were going through and we wanted to empower the employees to make a change and do something positive,” said Path Resorts Co-President Justin Cutillo. “It was the most effective way to accomplish the goal.” 

Cutillo categorized the project as a company decision, and credited marketing coordinator Ashley Pevine with “spearheading” the effort.

“Every employee got an email, we had raffles where donors could be put into a raffle for gift cards,” Pevine said. “We had 25 people donating.” 

The company also agreed to match the donations of employees, who collected 502 items.

“We had to go to BJ’s to make the corresponding purchases, and it was amazing to see how much we came up with at the end of the day,” Cutillo said.

The pantry's coordinator Pamela Vaughn believes the donation to be one of the largest in the pantry's history.

"There was tuna fish, canned vegetables, fruits, soup, cereal, pasta, macaroni and cheese, there was quite an array," Vaughn said, who added that demand for the pantry's services have increased since the pandemic.

"We do about 1,000 individuals a month," Vaughn said of the unrestricted pantry. "That’s our average. They’re allowed to come weekly. We have a significant amount of fresh rescue we collect from area stores."

This isn’t Path Resorts’ first donation rodeo, as Pevine explained.

“We started this in 2020 when COVID was really hard on everyone,” Pevine recalled. “We did a cereal drive for those having food insecurities. Last year in 2021 we changed it to an actual food drive.”

This year, the company decided to donate in their backyard.

“Our office in Center Harbor is just down the road from Agape,” Pevine explained. “We’ve always been into charity, but doing the drive, seeing all the people in need with food insecurities during the pandemic, there’s such a high need.” 

As for the donors, Cutillo said those in the frontline, highest risk positions like housekeepers were the most charitable.

“Basically, people who have their own needs in their homes, working these frontline jobs, they are a lot of the same people driving this effort to be so successful,” Cutillo said. "This is really an employee-driven thing. While we lit the match to move everything along, they’re the ones that brought the gasoline to the fire so to speak.”

"Without the support of the surrounding communities, a lot of pantries couldn't reach as many people or be as successful," Vaughn said. "It’s really important that people and businesses in the area recognize how big the need is. Thankfully, we have lot of contributions. We’re very fortunate of that."

If you or someone you know is struggling with food security, the pantry is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.-noon, and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.