MORTENSON: OVER 33-THOUSAND PEOPLE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK RELY ON FOOD BANKS ON A DAILY BASIS. MANY OF THOSE RECEIVING THESE BENEFITS ARE LOCAL VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE SYRACUSE COMMUNITY. N-C-C NEWS REPORTER BERNIE KELLMAN WAS AT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN SYRACUSE THIS WEEKEND TO HIGHLIGHT HOW SOME LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE COMING TOGETHER TO HELP THOSE IN NEED.
KELLMAN: This weekend, for the first time ever, the United Methodists church in Syracuse hosted an acapella benefit concert for local Syracuse food pantries. Organizations of four different faiths came together to team up with local musicians the Harmony Katz to raise money for those in need in the Syracuse community. According to Harmony Katz Director, Pete Carrenz, This time of year can be tough for those in need and can force at risk families to make extraordinarily tough choices.
CARRENZ: THERE’S NEEDY FAMILIES, THERE ARE SENIORS THIS TIME OF YEAR IN WHICH…. I MEAN I’M EITHER GONNA PAY MY GAS BILL OR I’M GONNA EAT… AND I’M GONNA PAY MY FOOD BILL. SO SUDDENLY FOOD STARTS TO BECOME A CHALLENGE.
KELLMAN: WHILE THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THESE LOCAL FOOD BANKS TONIGHT IS TO RAISE MONEY, AN EQUALLY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS EVENT IS TO DE-STIGMATIZE THE NEED TO GET FOOD AND GET HELP. According to Methodist church food bank coordinator Galyen Murphy-Stanley, government provided social services are not enough to cover the needs of local families and around 500 people in the community rely on the United Methodist food pantry on a weekly basis
MUPHEY-STANLEY: THE REALITY IS… YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING TO NEED TO COME TO A FOOD PANTRY BECAUSE YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING TO RUN OUT OF YOUR SNAP BENEFITS, YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING TO RUN OUT OF YOUR FOOD STAMPS ON WEEK TWO OR WEEK THREE.
KELLMAN: Murphy-Stanely and the other local food pantries do their best to raise funds and provide for the community, but she says that the only way to make the situation better is through significant systematic change.
MURPHY-STANLEY: THIS FOOD PANTRY DOES BEAUTIFULLY TREMENDOUS WORK IN A VERY BROKEN SYSTEM. A-HUNDRED-AND-1 THINGS NEED TO CHANGE WE NEED NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND STATE LEADERSHIP THAT RECOGNIZES THAT THIS IS A HUMAN RIGHT. I THINK WE CAN REALLY CREATE A SOLUTION.
KELLMAN: BERNIE KELLMAN… N-C-C News.
MORTENSON: IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED TO HELP THOSE MOST IN NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY YOU CAN VISIT U-U-M-C-SYRACUSE-DOT-ORG TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS IN THE SYRACUSE AREA THAT SUPPORT LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — This weekend, for the first time ever, the United Methodists church in Syracuse hosted an a capella benefit concert for local Syracuse food pantries.
Four local food pantries from University United Methodist Church, Hendricks Chapel, Grace Episcopal Church and the Northeast Community Center came together in an effort to raise funds for their respective organizations. The charity groups teamed up with local musicians the Harmony Katz to raise money for those in need in the Syracuse community. According to Harmony Katz Director, Pete Carrenz, This time of year can be tough for those in need and can force at risk families to make extraordinarily tough choices.
“There are needy families, there are needy seniors this time of year,” said Carrenz. “I mean I’m either gonna pay my gas bill or I’m gonna eat. I’m gonna pay my gas bill, so suddenly food starts to become a challenge.
According to the Food Bank of Central New York, over 33,000 people in Central New York rely on assistance from food banks daily. The primary goal of local food pantries is to supplement a family’s need for food by supplying them with food only after their Supplemental Assistance Nutrients Plan (SNAP) benefits have run out. However, according to Galyn Murphy-Stanley, United Methodist Church Food Bank Coordinator, government provided social services are not enough to cover the needs of local families.
“The reality is you are always going to need to come to a food pantry because you’ll always run out on your SNAP benefits,” said Murphy-Stanley. “You’ll always run out of your food stamps week two or three. You may go out and buy dinner for your grandkids and your husband and yourself over the summer holiday and you’ll run out in that first week of July.”
United Methodist and the other local food pantries do their best to raise funds and provide for the community, but Murphy-Stanley says that the only way to make the situation better is through significant systematic change.
“This food pantry does tremendously beautiful work in a very broken system,” said Murphy-Stanley. “101 things need to change. We need national leadership and state leadership that recognizes that this [food access] is a human right. I think that we can create a solution.”
To get involved and help those in the Syracuse community most in need you can go to United Methodist’s website to find out more about upcoming events that benefit local food pantries.
