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PHOTOS: 'Thanks Giving...A Berry Special Event'

Local heavyweights came out to support Senator Fred Berry Tuesday night in a new effort to support local food pantries.

State Sen. Fred Berry hosted a night of “Thanks Giving” at the Peabody Marriott on Nov. 17 to bring in seed money to get a new Web-based donation system up and running for local food pantries. Berry's goal is to help struggling pantries get regular funding all year round. Berry also took the opportunity Thursday night to publicly announce that he was retiring from office and would not seek re-election in 2012.

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Berry Launches Effort to Support Local Pantries Year Round

A "Berry Special Event" Thursday night at the Peabody Marriott to raise seed money for a new initiative to keep local food pantries sustained all year long.

For the past three decades, Peabody native and state Sen. Fred Berry has championed many causes and engaged in countless charitable efforts, more recently narrowing his focus as the economy has tanked to support local food pantries facing the greater challenge of serving more people with fewer resources. “As a lifelong resident of Peabody, and the state senator for this region I cannot accept that some of our neighbors; including veterans, children and seniors don’t know where there next meal will come from,” Berry says. For the past two years, he has called on his constituents in Peabody, Salem, Beverly, Danvers and Topsfield to donate thousands of packaged and canned goods to local pantries during an annual one-day food drive. But this …

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