Friday, April 1 at 6 pm, Rock Valley Brewing Company is teaming up with the BarRoom Neon Project, Little Falls Food Pantry, and LF Volunteer Corps for a night of music, giving back, and showing love for local volunteers.
Joe Famulare of BarRoom Neon Project said, “My wife Christine and I started BarRoom Neon Project as a duo in 2019. We’ve grown since then, bringing on Rory O’Bryan and Mike Catalina, and so has the BarRoom Neon Project Show. But the vision behind all of it is the same: to highlight local musicians, local businesses, and local people, using our original music as a platform for entertainment.”
“We got with Mike George of Rock Valley Brewing about the April 1st show because we wanted to give others the opportunity to help feed those in need, enjoy live music, and support an awesome local business. A lot of people are struggling right now and local food pantries in New York do so much to help”, said Famulare.
As inflation increases, social safety-net programs initiated through the pandemic come to a close, and unemployment rates persist, individuals and community programs across the country are struggling to meet food security needs.
According to City-Data.com, a website that aggregates statistics from a variety of public sources including government agencies, in 2019 24% of the population in Little Falls lived below the poverty line, compared to state average of 13%. Additionally, 39.1% of children in Little Falls were living below the poverty line, compared to 17.7% across the state.
Little Falls has a long history of collaborations between local organizations such as the Youth and Family Center, the Little Falls Food Pantry, the Little Falls City School District as well as others support our community residents. The Little Falls Food Pantry alone provides 85,300 meals a year to those in need. Many of these organizations and partnerships rely on volunteers to maintain access to much-needed resources.
Jordyan Mueller of LF Volunteer Corps said, “Since 2020, local volunteers have had a tremendous part in ensuring people in our community have safe access to food. Each holiday, 20-30 different individuals have spent a lot of time unloading trucks, helping pack meal baskets, and delivering them to homes. It really does take a village and we want to show some appreciation for that. We heard about the Bar Room Neon Project show at Rock Valley and knew it was a great way to bring all of us together around a common goal.”
Anyone interested in coming to the show to enjoy the music, beers, or food from a number of local restaurants are encouraged to bring either a non-perishable food item or a monetary donation for the Little Falls Food Pantry.
Gift Certificates and refreshments will also be available for long-standing volunteers who RSVP prior to the April 1 show with LFVC. Anyone with questions or who is interested in participating in meal deliveries on April 13th for Easter 2022 are encouraged to contact Jordyan Mueller at Jordyan.Lf@gmail.com
