The Hero for Hunger: David Wilcox, Lake Life editor for The Citizen newspaper. David created the list of pantries and soup kitchens from my first article in May 2013. It is unique and so helpful to the Auburn community. I haven’t thanked him this year for its special place here in my articles. Thank you, David.
Happy spring! I know this is central New York, but that snow last week was the last straw for me. We had very few visitors last Friday, so I decided to clean house and started on our rummage sale (to be held May 9-11), because you know I am always fundraising. Here is my latest, just right for spring:
• The pantry did a cookbook several years ago and included in it recipes for soup that some of my Retired Senior Volunteer Program volunteers are justly famous for. We will be serving two of them up at our spring (fundraising) luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, April 11, as well as three sandwiches and homemade cookies from Mary Lou (our RSVP Friday volunteer, who is eternally young at 90 years of age). Recipes will be offered with the lunch menu. We also offer takeout.
• I was at Wegmans last week, just before the snowstorm, and saw a fundraiser for the CNY Food Bank at the checkout. You know, don’t you, that if you support the CNY Food Bank, you are also supporting me and the Food Provider's Network of Cayuga County (all the pantries and soup kitchen listed with this column). As a 501(c)(3) charity, I am a member of the CNY Food Bank, a food advocacy group with a food warehouse. The bank purchases food at bulk or wholesale prices. This allows me to purchase the food at cost, three times cheaper than retail prices. When we order food, Monday is our delivery day, before noon. More than 10 volunteers specifically gather to unload the produce, vegetables, fruit and cans from the bank’s truck so the pantry week is ready with stocked shelves. The CNY Food Bank supplies 11 counties.
• May 11, the second Saturday in May, is Mother’s Day weekend. The U.S. Post Office's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive takes place all over the country, but the food cans collected stay locally. Put items out in the morning in bags or cardboard boxes. Donate anything you have but frozen food, homemade or glass containers, or expired items. If you forget, the carriers are picking up on Monday also. Remember that SNAP (food stamps) does not pay for personal care items like baby diapers, soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, household cleaning items, razors, etc. The letter handlers will also accept these items. What is always needed on our pantry selves are canned tuna and peanut butter. For a list of the shelf life of common canned foods, consult the CNY Food Bank’s website, foodbankcny.org, to help you decide what to give.
Don’t forget to look at Terry Cuddy’s Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES class presentation of what we do at the pantry on YouTube.
Please volunteer, donate, or reciprocate in kind to all the pantries and soup kitchens listed.
WATCH: Inside the Calvary Food Pantry
