The Food Bank of the Southern Tier announced today that 2014 was a record setting year for the organization’s hunger relief efforts in the region. For the first time in the Food Bank’s 34 year history, over 10 million pounds of food were distributed to neighbors in need by the Food Bank and its network of partner agencies including Broome County based affiliate CHOW.
The Food Bank’s ability to increase distribution is a credit to a new, larger facility opened in 2011, the expansion of its volunteer program, significant growth in direct service programs including the BackPack Program™ and Mobile Food Pantry, as well as a partnership formed in 2012 with CHOW to better serve the highest need County in the Food Bank’s service area.
“Before moving into this facility, we never would have been able to distribute anywhere near 10 million pounds of food,” said Natasha Thompson, president and CEO of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. “It’s an amazing milestone that we could not have reached without the support of so many including our volunteers, donors, and especially our partner agencies who work on the front lines to distribute this food to our neighbors in need.”
While this record is an important milestone, the Food Bank is already looking ahead at ways to more effectively address the sobering need of one of four Southern Tier residents who receive assistance from the Food Bank each year. An important change in 2015 will be the expansion of the Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry (MFP) program. The number of MFP distributions serving seniors will more than double this year to better reach a population that is often limited in access to traditional food pantries. Beginning mid-year, the MFP program will also significantly expand evening and weekend distributions to better reach food insecure populations with weekday employment.
For more information about the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, or to learn how you can make a difference in the fight against hunger, visit www.FoodBankST.org or call (607) 796-6061.
Established in 1981 and headquartered in Elmira, N.Y., the Food Bank of the Southern Tier distributes food and other grocery products to people in need through a network of more than 160 partner agencies including food pantries, meal kitchens, shelters and other hunger relief organizations in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins Counties. The Food Bank also administers several direct service food distribution programs including the BackPack Program™ and Mobile Food Pantry. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and a regional agency of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. The Food Bank helps fulfill Catholic Charities’ commitment to create a just and compassionate society rooted in the dignity of all people by working together to build and sustain hunger-free communities throughout the Southern Tier.
