FINNERAL: The Food Bank of Central New York is a key resource for families and individuals who struggle to consistently put meals on the table. Executive director of the food bank Kathleen Stress says this time of year is especially important to provide people with food.
STRESS: Certainly with winter time, when families already have a restricted budget and maybe not a lot of discretionary funds if they can utilize a food pantry for free food particularly wholesome food then they are gonna be able to use the money they do have which may be limited to pay rent or heat and make sure that they maintain their home.
FINNERAL: Stress says the food bank’s main initiative is to fight food insecurity which is when people do not know where their next meal is coming from. This can happen when people have to spend their food money on other necessities such as rent or medication.
SRESS: What we’re trying to make sure is that our programs, so food pantries and soup kitchens have enough wholesome resources to feed their communities or people that are coming to the programs and we want to make sure that everyone who visits our programs is leaving with three meals for three days includes for every single household member.
FINNERAL: The food bank’s mobile pantry is a huge part of combatting food insecurity. Drivers pick up food from retail partners such as Wegmans, Walmart and Sam’s Club. These stores give up food that they do not consider sellable, but they have not expired. Some foods include fruits and dairy items. Those items are repacked and distributed as soon as possible.
STRESS: When we are picking up perishables so produce is certainly one of those perishables it’s already diminishing when it hits the store level so by the time we’re picking it up it’s already life expectancy is shortened. So we’re dropping it off to programs along our route or that are gonna have distributions that afternoon or the following day so to maximize the opportunity to get that product out.
FINNERAL: The Food Bank of Central New York keeps a huge emphasis on keeping their products clean so the food that they provide to people is very fresh
FINNERAL: The 74,000 square foot facility is very organized which helps various tasks go smoothly. Stress says the food bank also puts a huge emphasis on child nutrition. Throughout the school year, the food bank has a program called Kids Cafe to make sure children have nutritious meals after school.
STRESS: It’s after school programs boys and girls clubs, parks and recs that the kids who are there cause their parents might be working a little later shift have access to a hot meal before they go home.
FINNERAL: The Food Bank of Central New York has an 11 county service area and Stress says over 169,000 people are food insecure. According to the Food Bank of Central New York website, the food bank distributed over 14.5 million pounds of food in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Stress believes there is still a lot of work to be done. James Finneral, NCC News
