Dear Editor,
Catholic Charities Tioga Outreach Center is conducting a food drive during September, which is “Hunger Action Month”. Right here in Tioga County, one in five children is food insecure.
Did you know that poverty is something many people experience at some time in their life?
The following data is cited from “Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity”. (http://spotlightonpoverty.org).
The U.S. Census Bureau shows movement in and out of poverty over time: 34.5 percent of the population experienced poverty at least once for two months or more in the four year period between 2009 and 2012. (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/publications/dynamics09_12/index.html).
Over our lifetimes, 65 percent of us will need to use an anti-poverty program, such as Medicaid, TANF, SNAP, SSI and housing assistance (http://sw.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/3/237.full.pdf).
Many of us are just an accident, illness, job loss or newborn baby away from slipping into poverty. (http://home.gwu.edu/-scellini/PovertyDynamics_web.pdf). Some people come to the food pantry at Catholic Charities for the first time in their life, and others are coping with limited incomes, such as seniors or people with disabilities. Please donate to our food pantry and be part of a “bridge over troubled waters”.
All are welcome at our pantry, as we serve all of Tioga County. Our other food assistance programs are: SNAP (Food Stamps) application assistance, nutrition education, and we sponsor a mobile food pantry.
Between Sept. 14 through Sept. 28, the following stores and government office have graciously agreed to host Catholic Charities’ food collection bins: Spencer Shurfine, Bostwick’s Auction in Candor, Hollenbeck’s Shurfine in Newark Valley, Price Chopper in Owego (Sept. 14-21), the Department of Social Services, Lawler’s Grocery in Owego, and TOPS in Owego. The Tioga Center School District is helping Catholic Charities again, as in past years, by having the price of admission to their football game on Oct. 16 be the donation of a non-perishable food item.
Please stop by one of these fine community locations or come by our office at 139 Roki Blvd. in Nichols, N.Y. to drop off your donation and tour the pantry. One can make a difference with one can or box of food.
Sincerely,
Laurie Ellis
Community Services Director
Catholic Charities Tompkins/Tioga
Tioga Outreach Center
