SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Syracuse’s South Side is haunted by the ghosts of grocery stores.
The Tops Market in the Valley Plaza closed down in 2018 after filing for bankruptcy. It was one of the only full-service grocery stores left in the South Side.
Rhonda Vesey lives right near the Valley Plaza, and used to walk to Tops for her groceries. Now, the closest full-service grocery store is two miles away, nearly a 40-minute walk.
“What about all these folks who don’t have a car, or means to navigate the bus system?” Vesey said. “Or don’t have the money to catch an Uber or a Lyft?”
The Valley’s only walkable, accessible food options include fast food restaurants or Dollar Stores. The lack of full service grocery stores classifies the South Side as a food desert, according to the Onondaga County Health Department.
Data from Feeding America shows that nearly 1 in 10 people in Onondaga County do not have access to the food that meets their dietary needs.
But local organizations are fighting back.
Meals on Wheels is a volunteer organization nestled underneath an apartment complex. The organization has its drivers pop in and out to transport meals across the city. Linda Llewellyn has worked with Meals on Wheels for the past seven and a half years, and knows her driving is the reason many families get food on a plate.
“You are the person who may put the only meal in a refrigerator for some folks.” Llewellyn said.
Inside the kitchen, volunteers make a variety of meals using fresh, natural ingredients. Line cook Eileen Bordorno understands the importance of proper nutrition firsthand.
“I grew up on a farm where we grew all of our own vegetables, raised a lot of our own meat,” Bordorno said. “Balanced meals were always important. We had the food pyramid back then and followed it closely. It’s, you know, the guidelines for everybody to have a healthy diet.”
Another organization involved with the fight is Food Recovery Network, which is situated on Syracuse University’s campus. Here, Syracuse and SUNY-ESF students band together to collect any extra food from campus cafeterias and distribute it to the community throughout the night.
Syracuse junior Kinda Hourani is set to become FRN’s vice president next semester. She emphasized how important it is for students to get involved.
“There’s a very large discrepancy between Syracuse University and the Syracuse community,” she said. “It’s our responsibility to use our privilege as students to help contribute to the broader community.”
To Hourani, giving back means the world.
“I’ve been on volunteer trips where I’ve seen lots of families just be so happy to get the food. It’s changed me,” she said. “I’ve touched a lot of lives and that means a lot to me and the volunteers in the organization. It’s very meaningful to connect with the community.”
As for Vesey, she founded an organization of her own called “Food Access Healthy Neighborhoods Now,” more commonly known as FAHNN. The group has hosted markets in the Valley Plaza for over two years now. To Vesey, giving back to her community has turned into her passion.
“I live it, I breathe it, I sleep it,” Vesey said. “It’s not my job. I’m not being paid. But I work over 40 hours a week for two years now, helping to make a difference in the valley southside community and the city of Syracuse.”
FAHNN will host their next market at the Valley Plaza on April 27, starting at 9 a.m.
