Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Community pulls together to find Willow Roots a home

Rarely do we report on a story that pulls at the heartstrings and then have the pleasure of following up with a happy ending, but such is the case with the Willow Roots food pantry in Pine Plains. 

This February, The Millerton News featured front page articles by reporters Kaitlin Lyle and Carol Kneeland about how pantry co-founders Lisa and Nelson Zayas were facing complaints from neighbors on Carla Terrace that Willow Roots, which had been distributing food from 11 a.m. till noon off their front porch at 23 North Main St. every Saturday morning for the past two years, was creating a traffic disturbance and was not properly permitted to operate the pantry. 

The Zayases’ residential property borders North Main Street and Carla Terrace, and has legal driveways on both roads. Some of its Carla Terrace neighbors were not pleased with the commotion created by food deliveries during the week and the traffic created during Saturday morning meal pick ups. 

The pantry has since submitted an application to the Pine Plains Planning Board for a major home occupation special-use permit, which although a zoning issue is within the Planning Board’s jurisdiction. The matter is currently in litigation; the Planning Board met on Wednesday, March 10, and Planning Board attorney Warren Replansky advised since Willow Roots is now operating out of a new commercial space, the couple consider withdrawing their application. The pair said they will talk with their lawyers before deciding how to proceed; the board held off from voting (for more on Willow Roots’ new site, the ribbon-cutting ceremony and the Zayases’ journey, read this week’s front page).

The “happy” part of this story refers to the outpouring of community support that resulted in those two February articles — a deluge of calls, emails and texts that Lisa and Nelson received suggesting possible new locations for the pantry where no one would mind the weekly food distributions that help feed about 40 Tri-state households — most in Pine Plains — though that can vary depending on need. The majority of clients receive their food through local deliveries, and Lisa stressed only about 15 to 20 cars were driving to the North Main Street site each week. About 5,000 meals were distributed last year, but with so many losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, those numbers are likely to rise in 2021.

One of the people who called the couple was Kyle Lougheed, who owns and operates Ginocchio Electric, Inc., at 7730 South Main St. in Pine Plains. He said he wanted to show the pair the space at Pass It On, the former consignment shop across from the firehouse and near the post office, thinking it might be ideal for the food pantry. He did, and it was.

“What he gave us, literally, is more than we could ever could have hoped for,” said Lisa, adding Lougheed even converted an extra, unneeded bathroom into a kitchen area for washing fresh, donated produce.

“He sealed it and built a box so it would be sanitary. He built a table, left the sink so we could wash vegetables — it is amazing craftsmanship — he did a beautiful job for us,” she added. “That’s how much he cared we could utilize every inch of that space.”

Lisa and Nelson said they are deeply moved by how many people — some they knew and many they did not — who reached out to offer help when the pantry was in such dire need and facing extinction. During her darkest days, days when she was thinking of giving up, Lisa said she learned it’s OK to lean on others and ask for their help — help people were longing to provide.

“What we learned, what Willow Roots learned that day, is this was bigger than us,” she said. “What we saw was the joy people got from helping was something that could not be suppressed; we were being selfish by not letting people help us. We thought we were being strong, but we realized others needed to help us.” 

Lisa added each of those volunteers who helped offered invaluable expertise and support, and most continue to volunteer with the food pantry today. Some provided financial support, others now volunteer on distribution days or with various chores that need to get done. 

On moving day, Saturday, March 14, nearly 20 volunteers showed up with a flatbed to move refrigerators, freezers and other equipment to the new South Main Street distribution center. Lisa said it went incredibly well and that she was “in tears” at the show of support. 

The Zayases celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday morning, March 21, under bright blue skies and plenty of sunshine.

“Willow Roots is not going anywhere,” said Lisa, adding “this is a great community.”

Indeed it is. 

To call Willow Roots, dial 518-592-1298. To drop off donations, continue to go to the pantry’s original location, where its office will remain, at 23 North Main St., as no one will be at the new location to accept donations. Meanwhile, food distribution at Willow Roots’ new site will be on the first, third and fourth Saturday of each month, at 7730 South Main St., Pine Plains. Free clothes will also be available, including winter coats.

Latest News

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notice

Notice of Formation of Kaits Kleaning LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05-22-2026. Office Lo-cation: Dutchess county. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 24 Attlebury Hill Road, Standfordville NY 12581.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tenmile Distillery is making history the old-fashioned way

Cheers! The Revolutionary Whisky Series at Ten Mile Distillery, each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution, celebrates America at 250.

D.H. Callahan

In December 2024, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially established the Standard of Identity for American Single Malt Whisky. It was the first new classification in more than half a century, creating new possibilities for American distillers. One of the distilleries taking advantage of this new landscape is Wassaic’s Tenmile Distillery. It is well positioned to make history because Tenmile has always honored traditional whiskey-making practices.

Single malts are often associated with Scotch whisky. Perhaps that’s why, years before the new standard was adopted, Tenmile hired Shane Fraser, a Scottish master distiller with 30 years of experience at some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Fraser began designing the distillery from the ground up. Alongside owner and general manager Joel LeVangia, he emphasized time-honored traditions, favoring hands-on craftsmanship over the increasingly automated methods used by larger producers. When it comes to making the best whisky possible, Tenmile believes in learning from the past. That philosophy extends beyond the distilling process.

Keep ReadingShow less

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair

Dean Chamberlain
Sinclair’s show explores the ways women have been practicing forms of magic for centuries, and there is plenty of history to tell.

Belinda Sinclair is the kind of magician who impresses people who don’t like magic. Her tricks are mind-boggling. Her stories are captivating. And if she picks you to write your name on a card, get ready to be wowed. Repeat attendees of her shows, of which there are many, take almost as much delight in watching new jaws drop as they do in seeing an illusion reach its astonishing conclusion.

Since the summer of 2025, Sinclair has been baffling local audiences at the Hughes Memorial Library in West Cornwall, but her magical run comes to a close at the end of August.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson.

Hilary Scott

On Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, two of the greatest American voices of their generation, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson, join Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of excerpts from John Adams’ groundbreaking opera “Nixon in China.” The piece, performed earlier this year in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York City, is a highlight of a program that also includes “Meditations on Grace” (2024) by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, and the melodic and technically demanding Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as for her advocacy for the powerful impact of the creative arts in health. Hampson has long been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time and has received countless international honors for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. Both performed in “Nixon in China” earlier this year at the Paris Opera under the baton of Kent Nagano.

Keep ReadingShow less
Local playwright revisits Revolutionary moment in “Rebel Town”

The cast and crew of “Rebeltown: The Musical.”

Jack Sheedy

John Alan Segalla was working in Boston a few years ago, giving historic tours at the site of the Boston Tea Party. Now, as America celebrates 250 years as a nation, the Canaan native is about to debut a new version of his original musical, “Rebel Town,” inspired largely by the Boston Tea Party, the protest that helped launch the American Revolution.

“It wasn’t until I got to Boston and learned the Tea Party story that I fell in love with this moment in history, and I saw the story as wildly compelling and very important, and really a story that was very misunderstood, mistaught in schools,” Segalla said at a recent rehearsal in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, ahead of the show’s July 10 opening.

Keep ReadingShow less
An invitation to paint a community mural in Torrington

Community mural design by Macayla Muzzulin will be painted by volunteers on July 11 in Franklin Plaza in Torrington.

Provided

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, Five Points Arts in Torrington will host a community mural project celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. Volunteers of every age and artistic ability are invited to help paint a 20-by-6-foot mural designed by artist Macayla Muzzulin. The mural will be completed in one day, transformed from a numbered outline into a permanent public artwork along the river in downtown Torrington.

“We firmly believe art is for everyone,” said Five Points founder and executive director, Judith McElhone. “It’s so great to be able to do this with such talent, and with Launchpad artists, volunteers and staff there to help.”

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.