Island has history of helping hungry residents

To the Editor: 

It was heartening to read the piece on food insecurity on the Island and the outpouring of support from Islanders to provide holiday meals to needy families (“Islanders helping Islanders,” Nov. 21). Organizations such as Island Grown Initiative have stepped forward in recent years to tackle the Island’s food-insecurity problem. 

It’s worth noting that food distribution on the Island goes back a long way. A pioneer in this effort was Betty Burton, who, along with her husband John, founded Serving Hands Distribution, which operated out of the Baptist Parish Hall, as it does today. I remember Thanksgiving dinners served by many volunteers under Betty’s direction. Mention should also be made here of the Island Food Pantry, which was in the Old Stone Church in Vineyard Haven. This was operated by Armen Hanjian, and along with Betty Burton’s Serving Hands Distribution was the sole source of basic food needs on Martha’s Vineyard.

Jack Street

Vineyard Haven