Scott Upham: All we started with was a table of just a few things. We expected to maybe be going for a
couple weeks and it just exploded.
Reporter: IN LATE MARCH, TWO STRATHMORE
RESIDENTS DECIDED TO PUT A COUPLE
FOOD ITEMS ON THEIR FRONT PORCH
FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDED IT.
Tammy Schuh: So we literally just put out a table I said
“well there’s 20 items, if they go great” and
two weeks later we had three tables full of
food.
Reporter: THE SHOPPE AT STRATHMORE HAS LAUNCHED INTO A NEARLY SEVEN-MONTH LONG PASSION PROJECT THAT HAS THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD INVOLVED.
Upham: This neighborhood has helped literally hundreds. It’s humbling, it’s absolutely amazing and we couldn’t be more honored.
Reporter: THE SHOPPE AT STRATHMORE RECEIVED THE NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2020 EMPIRE AWARD TO HONOR ITS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. BUT UPHAM SAYS THE SHOPPE’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IS BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.
Upham: The main thing is just getting to establish relationships with people around here and hear how it really helps them and impacts them.
Michael Pee: It means so much especially after my wife passed. Just to see this here is such a blessing. It really is.
Reporter: WITH WINTER APPROACHING, THE SHOPPE IS WORKING TO COMBAT THE COLD AND STAY OPEN.
Shuh: We’re asking people to bring like plastic containers that we can pre-package.
Reporter: THE SHOPPE AT STRATHMORE IS LOOKING FOR FOOD LIKE THIS. BEST IS WEATHER SAFE INSTEAD OF GLASS OR CANS.
Shuh: We are looking to the winter, we just don’t know what it looks like yet.
Reporter: THE SHOPPE IS LOOKING INTO BECOMING AN OFFICIAL NONPROFIT, BUT NO MATTER WHAT WILL CONTINUE TO HELP AS LONG AS IT’S NEEDED. SARAH SALZMAN, NCC NEWS.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – What started as a few food items left out on two Strathmore resident’s front porch quickly turned into a 100% donations-based store involving the entire neighborhood.
Scott Upham and Tammy Shuh cofounded the Shoppe at Strathmore in late March after seeing similar efforts in Camillus.
The Shoppe’s ‘take what you need, leave what you can’ motto inspired others in the community to do their part to help those in need.
“We literally just put out a table I said ‘well there’s 20 items, if they go great’ and
two weeks later we had three tables full of food.” Shuh said.
The Shoppe at Strathmore gained so much attention that local nonprofits began giving their surplus donations to Upham and Shuh.
In early October, the Shoppe at Strathmore received the New York State Senate 2020 Empire Award from state senator Rachel May for their outstanding contributions to the community.
While Upham and Shuh were grateful for the recognition, they say their greatest achievement has been the connections they’ve made with people.
“The main thing is just getting to establish relationships with people around here and hear how it really helps them and impacts them.” Upham said.
Michael Pee, a Shoppe at Strathmore regular said “It means so much especially after my wife passed. Just to see this here is such a blessing. It really is.”
To prepare for winter, they’re asking for pre-packaged, plastic food items that can withstand the cold weather ahead.
Upham and Shuh hope to register the Shoppe at Strathmore as an official nonprofit but until then plan to continue running as long as the neighborhood needs them.
