Newport — The Hoyt Community Care Center, which houses the Newport Food Pantry, will be rededicated on Saturday, at 11 a.m., in a ceremony designed to mark the building’s 20-year anniversary and kick off fundraising season for the food pantry.

Providing food assistance has been a priority for the Newport Area Association of Churches, of which the food pantry is “the oldest and most important element,” Jim Demers, director of the food pantry, said in a news release.

But by 1996, the effort had outgrown its early homes in local church halls. “A group of determined citizens, led by Father Joseph Mahoney of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Newport; the Rev. James Gray, pastor of the South Congregational Church in Newport; William Hoyt, a local contractor and layperson from South Church; and Eleanor Shadis, a layperson from East Lempster Community United Methodist Church, dreamed of a spacious building, purpose-built for the distribution of food to those in need in Newport and its environs,” the release said.

“This center has been a rock solid cornerstone of Newport and the surrounding communities for 20 years,” Demers said in a telephone interview. Each month the food pantry serves 200 families, helping to feed about 700 people.

The organization is supported by the Newport Area Association of Churches, but Demers said donations from the community are the most important source of funding for the food pantry. Monetary donations are more helpful than food donations, Demers said, because he is able to shop at a discount at the New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester. “I get more bang for your buck,” he said.

The need for the pantry increases in the fall as families struggle to balance heating costs with food costs. “Families have to fill the fuel tank so they have no money for food,” Demers said. Board members have told him they have never seen such high demand for food assistance, he said.

The ceremony will feature members of the community and the clergy and will affirm the organization’s commitment to serving the needs of people in Newport and nine surrounding towns. The celebration will take place at the Hoyt Center, 95-97 Main St., Newport. The event is free, but donations are welcome. Demers said he hopes that community members will come learn more about the food bank, tour the facility, and ultimately support the food bank financially.

For more information, call 603-863- 3411.