Food distribution held on a cold and rainy December morning

Food distribution held on a cold and rainy December morning

Andrew Hafer, community services director for Tioga Opportunities, unloads food items from the truck as he chats happily with each person coming through the line. (Photos by Kathy Nichols)

Earlier this month, at Marvin Park in Owego, was a bountiful day despite the cold dreary weather. Tioga Opportunities was supervising this month’s Food Bank distribution.

By 10 a.m., at least 100 people were already lined up with roller bags, wagons and tubs to assist with picking up much needed food items. The day was gray and wet, but people talked and joked as they worked their way from one end of the Tioga County Agriculture Society’s cattle barn to the other.

Andrew Hafer, community service director for Tioga Opportunities, Inc. worked with Charlie Truman of the Tioga County Fair Board to secure the huge cattle barn area. There is plenty of parking, easy access and no traffic to be concerned with. The fair board would love to see their fairground buildings used year-round.

Jim Thurston, senior supervisor for Tioga Works, was working side by side with Hafer to unload items and cheerfully greet each person as they came through the line. When asked how often food is distributed, they stated it is done monthly. A distribution calendar is located on the Food Bank of Elmira website, foodbankst.org.

Food distribution held on a cold and rainy December morning

The Mobile Food Pantry truck sits under cover in the Tioga County Agriculture Society’s Cattle Barn at Marvin Park in Owego, N.Y. this past week as workers from Tioga Opportunities Inc. and Tioga Works begin to unload groceries for the December food distribution.

Considering the weather, the wait time in line, and the task of toting groceries in carts, maybe a group would like to help the Tioga Opportunities group with a monthly port a john rental and patio heaters during the winter months. This writer will communicate the need to the fair board at their January meeting.