The incredible scenery and landscape of the Finger Lakes in addition to plentiful sources of fresh and flavorful foods certainly give those who live in this region reasons to be thankful. However, according to the Foodbank of the Southern Tier, about one in eight adults and one in five children are at risk of hunger. We’ve compiled a list to help you give back to those who are struggling this Thanksgiving so we all can find reasons to be grateful:
- You can help support the Food Bank’s mission of creating and sustaining hunger-free communities by supporting its 11th annual Virtual Turkey Drive that runs until Thanksgiving Day—Thursday, Nov. 26. Your donation will help fund holiday meals for those in need. You can donate by visiting this page: https://www.foodbankst.org/td2020/.
2. Donate to a Seneca County food pantry that’s in need. The Seneca County Office of Energy Management released a press release that states the county’s food pantries have a greater need than usual for donations due to the effects of COVID-19. Pantries accepting monetary donations and non-perishable food items include:
SOUTH SENECA ECUMENICAL FOOD PANTRY
Ovid Federated Church
PO Box 340
7137 Main Street, Ovid NY 14521 (607) 869-2794 or contact Nancy at (607) 351-0720
Mondays only 8am-1pm (8am-10am by appointment only) Checks payable to:
South Seneca Ecumenical Food Pantry
INTERLAKEN REFORMED CHURCH KITCHEN CUPBOARD Interlaken Reformed Church
8315 North Main Street
Interlaken NY 14847
(607) 532-4321 (Church) or contact Michele at (607) 592-9870
Fridays only 3pm-6pm or other day/time by appointment
Checks payable to:
Interlaken Kitchen Cupboard, PO Box 335, Interlaken, NY 14847
LODI PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
8591 State Route 414
Lodi, NY 14860
Contact Mary Lois at (607) 592-9043 Saturdays 2pm-5pm
Checks payable to: Lodi Food Pantry, PO Box 34, Willard, NY 14588
HOUSE OF CONCERN
35 State Street
Seneca Falls NY 13148
(315) 568-2433
Monday-Friday 9am-12:00pm; 12:30pm-3pm
Checks payable to:
Seneca County House of Concern
CAYUGA SENECA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMS (CAP)
23 Center Street
Waterloo NY 13165
(315) 539-5647
Open M-F, 9am-5pm
Checks payable to: CAP, 89 York Street, Auburn, NY 13021
TYRE FOOD PANTRY
Tyre Reformed Church
Route 414 (2 miles north of Thruway Exit 41) (315) 539-9471
Every 2nd and 4th Friday 2pm-4pm Opening May 8th
Checks payable to:
Tyre Food Pantry, 1887 Worden Road, Seneca Falls, NY 13148
HARMONY FOOD PANTRY
Waterloo Presbyterian Church
42 E. Main Street, Waterloo, NY 13165 Contact Josh McKimm (315) 515-7964 Saturdays 10am-11am
Checks payable to:
Harmony Food Pantry
3. Help area farm-to-table restaurant workers affected by the pandemic by donating to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund is an advocacy and action nonprofit created by and for restaurant workers—you can also support this organization by purchasing a fun, tongue-in-cheek Finger Lakes winemaker pinup calendar that includes expert wine pairings.
4. Donate to the Corning Community Food Pantry which offers needed groceries to food-insecure individuals and families. Each year, it distributes around 140 tons of food to thousands of community members struggling with hunger, according to its FLXGives profile.
Non-perishable food items can be brought to the pantry which is located at 11715 East Corning Road in Corning during its usual business hours which are 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday & Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday (except for Thanksgiving Day), and the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Mary Caruso, the food bank’s director, said to be COVID-19 safe, there is a table out in front of the pantry for donations to be dropped off.
The food pantry has already given out around 400 Thanksgiving meals to families in need, but they will still accept donations of Thanksgiving foods, especially those that can possibly be saved until next year or could be used for Christmas meals.
“I appreciate all of the support that we receive from the virtual community and the surrounding community,” Caruso said.
While there are certain non-perishable food staples they are always looking for, Caruso said the pantry also appreciates getting a variety of food donations—once they even received escargot, which a client graciously took home and said they’d always wanted to try.
Food items that are almost always needed, though, include the following (preferably not in glass containers if possible):
• Boxed dry foods such as pasta, rice and instant potatoes
• Canned proteins such as salmon and tuna
• Nuts, peanut butter and other nut butters
• Canned fruits, beans, soups and vegetables
• Crackers
• Baby food
With these suggestions, we hope you are able to make this Thanksgiving brighter not only for those in your immediate family, but also for your Finger Lakes community.
