St Patricks Day Parade donation
Bernie Adorino, president of Adorino Construction and co-chair for the parade’s annual food drive, Pat McGrath, co-chair for the Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and Chris Hoke, food drive co-chair, presented a check for Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen on Friday, March 21. At right is soup kitchen manager Mike Pilat. The donation was part of the parade’s annual food drive that collects funds and non-perishable food items to benefit the kitchen’s mission to feed struggling individuals and families.

Story and photo by Thomas Caputo, Daily Sentinel

During the annual Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade, spectators continued the tradition of showing their generosity by donating funds and food to benefit Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen.

The parade, which took place Saturday, March 15, was considered a “resounding success” by city officials as it remained incident-free with zero police interventions reported throughout the day, noting the “remarkable achievement reflects the outstanding coordination between event organizers, public safety officials, and the cooperation of the community.”

Utica’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is reported to be the third largest in New York state and typically features over 5,000 participants and approximately 30,000 spectators, as reported by parade officials.

During this year’s parade, $3,200 was collected for the annual food drive. In addition to the funds, over 1,500 food items were also collected.

“The crowds were incredible this year,” said Bernie Adorino, president of Adorino Construction and co-chair for the parade’s annual food drive. “The more people, the more money you can expect to raise. Every year it just gets bigger and bigger, so we keep doing it. It’s getting better and better every year.”

Parade organizers were able to increase that $3,200 to a total of $4,001 this year, which was presented to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen on Friday, March 21.

For the past 16 years, a food drive for the kitchen has taken place simultaneously during the parade, contributing to over 15,000 food items and around $20,000 to benefit the kitchen’s mission to feed struggling individuals and families.