EARLVILLE – Recently, more and more families are relying on assistance from charities to make ends meet. But every once in a while, those charities need a little help from their friends in return.

The Earlville Food Cupboard has been a longtime local lifeline to many in the community, offering whatever assistance it has at its disposal to those suffering from hunger.

Not so long ago, organizers at the Earlville Food Cupboard—located in the basement of the Village of Earlville Baptist Church at 9 W. Main St. — registered in a competitive grant through the Wal-Mart corporation that would reward the charity with $20,000 to be used at the discretion the Food Cupboard's administrators.

“We received notice of the grant program from the Food Bank of Central New York and were urged to apply for funding,” said Thuvia Stopford, Director of the Earlville Food Cupboard. “We applied in early November and were just recently notified that we had been selected as finalists of the reward.”

In order for the grant to be secured, community involvement is crucial, according to Stopford. The final stage of the granting allocation comes by way of an online poll where the general population cast their vote for charities competing for the funding.

Stopford indicates that the “Holiday Makeover” grant can be used for a variety of things such as updating facilities, infrastructure upgrades, and placing food on the shelves of the Food Cupboard if awarded.