Utica’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade brought the luck of the Irish to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen.
Parade food drive co-chairs Chris Hoke and Bernie Adorino, along with parade co-director Patrick McGrath, delivered a $4,000 donation to the soup kitchen – a record breaker in the 15 years that the parade has collected food and monetary donations to help the kitchen ease the plight of people in need, they said.
In addition, the parade committee collected more than 1,000 non-perishable food items for the soup kitchen during the parade, at parade events, and from students and parents at Notre Dame School.
Chris and her husband Mike were co-grand marshals this year as the parade celebrated its 200th anniversary.
Over the 15 years the parade has raised more than $22,000 and 15,000 food items for the soup kitchen.