‘Feeding Happy Valley’ aims to help community members in need and local restaurants. Here’s how
One State College man is working to feed Centre County residents one meal at a time.
John Patishnock created the Feeding Happy Valley project to provide pre-paid meals at participating local restaurants through a gift card program, with a soft launch set for April 1.
Anyone can visit a participating restaurant, order a meal and ask to pay using one of the 10 Feeding Happy Valley gift cards worth $10 each — no questions asked. Customers can use multiple gift cards as needed if they’re still available, according to Patishnock.
“I hope that it sends a message that this community supports itself, this community supports one another,” Patishnock said. “We have people in this community who are struggling, who are in need.”
Patishnock also hopes the program provides an economic boost for the business owners, as well as recognition and appreciation for their work in the community.
Currently, five restaurants are committed to the project: Good Day Cafe in State College, Bonfatto’s Italian Market & Corner Cafe in Bellefonte, Cafe Lemont in Lemont, Way Fruit Farm in Port Matilda and Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks in Millheim. Both Way Fruit Farm and Elk Creek Cafe decided on their own to match each $100 donation with their own $100, meaning $200 in gift cards is available at each location.
Fran McDermid, director of program operations at Strawberry Fields, oversees Good Day Cafe and jumped at the opportunity to participate in the project.
“It’s a super initiative that I think so many places in State College want to be able to do this, and sometimes it takes a catalyst to really get things going,” McDermid said. “I think it’s the start of something that could really kind of snowball within the area to help people who are hungry.”
After browsing Facebook and learning of a similar project at a Louisiana restaurant, Patishnock decided to bring his own version to Centre County and was able to do so through 3 Dots Downtown’s monthly grant program.
Every month, 3 Dots’ approximately 20 volunteer trustees donate $100 each to jump-start one community project that receives a total of $1,000 — no strings attached. Trustees vote on the last Tuesday of each month to select a project that will make Centre County an “awesome place to call home” and will “engage the broader community.”
Since June 2018, 3 Dots has given a total of 34 grants and has received 250 project submissions, according to 3 Dots Innovation Director Spud Marshall.
“We felt that this was a really timely project given everything that’s been going on over the last year with COVID,” Marshall said. “The part that excited the trustees ... was that it serves two different groups in the community.”
Additionally, Marshall said trustees hoped the project would eventually gain support from a wider range of donors.
“The goal of these projects is to help people make their marks on our community,” Marshall said. “When lots of people see themselves as creative contributors, that’s when communities become really amazing places to live.”
The goal is to onboard more locations to give away 10 meals at 10 restaurants.
For Good Day Cafe, the cause is an extension of its commitment to giving back.
“We’re just so grateful to be a part of it,” McDermid said. “This community has been amazing to us as a nonprofit coffee shop, and it’s just another way that we can try to give back to the community.”
Ultimately, to make the project sustainable, Patishnock is encouraging the participating restaurants to promote the program so community members will donate $10 for more gift cards.
“I hope that it provides just a little bit of an uplifting spirit,” Patishnock said. “There have been times in my life when things haven’t been going my way ... a simple gesture by someone can kind of turn things around and just let folks know that they’re not alone in whatever they’re struggling with.”
Restaurant owners interested in participating in Feeding Happy Valley may contact Patishnock at johnp285@gmail.com. Anyone may donate $100 monthly to become a 3 Dots Downtown trustee or submit a project idea.
