As the country wrestles with the recession, food pantries and soup kitchens are seeing the number of patrons growing.
Last year, Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, located in Cornwall on Hudson, provided more than 8 million pounds of food to more than 360 member agencies in Orange, Ulster, Dutchess, Rockland Sullivan and Putnam counties. Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, as part of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, helps to serve more than 1,000 member agencies in 23 counties from Westchester to the Canadian border.
Anticipating continued need, a new program is on the way for the holidays.
This year”™s efforts are buttressed by a state grant for $100,000 secured by Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, R/C-Blooming Grove.
The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley (FBHV) is a member of Feeding America. The non-profit started its work over 25 years ago and has been located at its current space, a donated 55,000 square foot warehouse since 1996.
While FBHV runs programs all year ”“ from October”™s Food Frenzy to Thanksgiving and Christmas appeals ”“ to raise funds as well as awareness, it is offering a new program, Operation Frontline: a six-week nutrition education workshop sponsored by Queens Galley in Kingston. The program will be held on Tuesdays from 1-3 p.m. at the Cornwall-on-Hudson warehouse beginning Dec. 1 and ending Jan. 5.
Volunteer chefs and nutrition educators will help participants learn how to create healthy meals on a limited budget, using Food Bank donations whenever possible.
To join the sessions, call Donna at 534-5344 no later than one week before the start of classes. FBHV asks that only one representative per agency take part, since seating is limited.
For Jan Whitman, who began her career with the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley as a volunteer nearly two decades ago, her job as executive director finds her crisscrossing the Hudson Valley to meet with sponsor organizations ”“ Shoprite, Hannaford”™s and other partners ”“ to fill the warehouse. Whitman accepted the Pattern for Progress award for “Quality of Life” at Pattern”™s 2009 dinner Nov. 4.
