‘Feeding Happy Valley’ Helps Community Members in Need and Supports Local Restaurants

A new initiative led by State College native John Patishnock aims to feed hungry community members while also supporting local restaurants.

“Feeding Happy Valley” was selected as this month’s recipient of a $1,000 Awesome Foundation grant through downtown State College community space 3 Dots, which awards the grants monthly to a community member-led project.

“I saw a Facebook post [about a] restaurant in Louisiana that allowed community members to prepay for food vouchers, basically a gift card,” Patishnock says. “They would pay for specific meals and then other community members could come into the restaurant and say ‘I’d like to use this food voucher for this meal.’ It was a way to give back to the community and help people who were hungry and struggling financially. 

“I thought it was such a smart and simple idea and that there has to be a similar need in State College.”

The initial $1,000 Patishnock received from 3 Dot’s Awesome Foundation grant will provide 10, $10 gift cards at 10 restaurants across Centre County.

“Anyone in the community who is struggling financially but who still is hungry and needs to eat can go into those restaurants and use those prepaid gift cards,” he says. “Anyone in the community who wants to take advantage of the program and get a meal, all they have to do is walk into the restaurant and say, ‘Do you have any gift cards available for Feeding Happy Valley?’ They’ll be available onsite as long as they last. I’m trying to make this as simple as possible for everyone. I’m buying the gift cards straight from the restaurants and the restaurants then keep them onsite for the community members.”

For the time being, Patishnock is recruiting locally-owned restaurants for the initiative. Confirmed participating restaurants thus far include Cafe Lemont, Good Day Cafe, Bonfatto’s, Way Fruit Farm and Elk Creek Cafe. Both Way Fruit Farm and Elk Creek Cafe have committed to matching their $100 portions of the grant money with $100 contributions of their own, for a total of $200 in Feeding Happy Valley gift cards at both locations. 

“Their generosity is inspiring, and they volunteered to match the grant money completely on their own,” Patishnock says. 

He also notes, “The restaurant owners are pumped about this. They love this idea and are thrilled to be on board.”

Fran McDermid, director of program operations at Good Day Cafe, adds, “Good Day Cafe is thrilled to partner with John Patishnock and Feeding Happy Valley. We are grateful this grant brings attention to the reality that many of our neighbors cannot afford to eat. We live in such a generous community; we feel confident restaurant customers will want to help and ‘pay it forward.’ Local restaurants and residents have been hit hard by the pandemic. Feeding Happy Valley is a win-win for both…”

When community members use a Feeding Happy Valley gift card, they can put the gift card toward anything they want off the restaurant’s menu and Patishnock clarifies that he’s not asking the restaurant owners to put any restrictions on how the gift cards are used. 

“The way I’m envisioning this is that there are no restrictions to how [the gift cards] are used,” he says. “We’re going off the honor system. This is meant to help community members and we trust people. We trust our community members.”

After the initial $1,000 grant funds are distributed, Patishnock aims to work with restaurant owners and others in the community to make Feeding Happy Valley a long-term, sustainable project, wherein Centre County residents or just those with a State College or Penn State affiliation can simply donate to the program online or directly through participating restaurants. 

“I’ve not worked out the logistics of that, but once the restaurants are on board… there’s definitely a plan for this to be long-term and sustainable,” Patishnock says. “The enthusiasm is there; the interest is there.”

Patishnock is hopeful that the initiative is something that will be embraced widely in his hometown.

“State College is my home,” he says. “Giving back to the community is important to me… This community has given me and my family many amazing opportunities and when there’s a chance for me to give back to my community and help community members, I’m going to do it. This is personal for me. I’m thrilled, and grateful and appreciative of 3 Dots for the grant… Hopefully this is something the community can embrace.”

Restaurants interested in participating in the Feeding Happy Valley initiative can reach Patishnock at [email protected]. 

For information about Awesome Foundation grants through 3 Dots, visit 3dotsdowntown.com/grants/.