The Kennett Mushroom Festival continued its long tradition of giving back to the community last Wednesday night when more than $100,000 in funding was announced during the annual grant presentation.

Gale Ferranto, the volunteer Mushroom Festival Coordinator, reminded everyone that the guiding principle of the Mushroom Festival is to give back to the community. Ferranto is the owner of Buona Foods, and she said that the grant presentation is always a highlight for the event’s organizers and volunteers because the organizations that receive the grants help so many people in the community.

“As a mushroom farmer here in Kennett Square,” Ferranto said, “I know how important the community in and around Kennet Square is, so it’s an honor to be able to support so many community programs and initiatives that help strengthen the neighborhoods in which we live and work.”

The Mushroom Festival has provided more than $1 million in grant awards during its nearly 40 years.

Ferranto recognized the members of the volunteer Mushroom Festival Board of Directors. The board members this year include board president Gina Puoci, vice president Jen Basciani, treasurer Laura Price, secretary Jim Hamilton, vendor chair Rhonda Sarver, Samantha Snyder, Eric Durynski, Lori Gebert, and Carl Lowe.

Mushroom Festival organizers also remembered Randy Lieberman, a longtime Mushroom Festival Board member and publisher of the Chester County Press, who passed away last December after a brief illness.

“We were incredibly saddened when we lost our friend and Mushroom Festival board member Randy Lieberman,” Ferranto said. “Randy was a board volunteer for more than 10 years. He was well-known in Kennett Square as publisher of the Chester County Press, and he was a participant in many civic organizations, and cheerleader of and for the mushroom industry.”

Ferranto then announced the establishment of the Randy Lieberman Scholarship Grant that will be available to women, ages 12 to 20 years old, to assist with public speaking, interview, and essay writing skills. Four recipients will be presented with the scholarship each year, in 2024 and 2025, during the Unionville Community Fair.

Lieberman’s two children, Avery Lieberman Eaton and Stone Lieberman were on hand with Lindsay Yates, president of the Unionville Community Fair, for the official announcement of the Randy Lieberman Scholarship Grant.

Ferranto announced that the theme for the 2024 Mushroom Festival is “Spawning Future Growth,” which is a nod not just to the mushroom farming community, but to the organizations and partners that the Mushroom Festival works with. This year’s Mushroom Festival will take place on Sept. 7 and 8.