Latest news with #FeedMoreWNY
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Niagara County seeing an increase in food insecurity
Food insecurity has increased in Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in the past year, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and meal programs. The latest results of the annual Map the Meal Gap study show that Niagara County's overall food insecurity rate has reached 13.3%, up from 12.6% in 2022. Among Niagara County's children, 19% face a lack of sufficient food, compared to 17.9% in 2022. 'When you tell me it's 19% for children — most school districts now are providing free meals,' said Major Tom Duperree of the Salvation Army of Lockport, which operates a food pantry and soup kitchen with groceries from FeedMore WNY and other donors. 'So it's evening time for the children because they're being fed in the daytime hours. It's alarming to me.' Duperree, who stocked shelves in the Salvation Army's food pantry Wednesday, has seen demand for the organization's meals and pantry items increase. But there's a new dimension to hunger developing with children. 'Late last year, I remember a high school teacher coming here, and there were two students,' he said. 'The parents had said to both of these children, 'Because you have a part-time job after school, you're no longer getting fed here.' One of the teachers took the lead in bringing the students down here to learn to navigate the food pantry.' According to Denyel Beiter, spokesperson for the Lockport City School District, all district students receive free breakfast and lunch through the US Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Provision. Beiter said the district was approved for the program because its poverty rate is over 60%. Mark Laurrie, superintendent of Niagara Falls City School District, said the study's findings of a 6% increase in food insecurity was not a surprise. 'I think that's conservative.' He said 82% of Niagara Falls students use the district's free breakfast and lunch program. Laurrie said announcing a snow day on a Friday is one of the hardest decisions he makes because he knows children will go without food all weekend. 'Abate Elementary has 650 kids, and does 86 backpacks for each weekend,' he said of filling bags with food for children. 'In every one of our elementary schools, we have a backpack program for the weekend,' Laurrie said. 'In our middle schools and high school, we have a food pantry and our social workers are taking kids to that pantry.' Since 2021, the number of people relying on FeedMore WNY, a hunger relief organization, increased by 46%. The need for supplemental food is driven by high grocery store prices, job loss, and increases in other costs, FeedMore said. 'These are community members of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances, including families working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet, older adults surviving on fixed incomes, people living with disabilities, and children,' Collin Bishop, chief communications officer for FeedMore WNY. Nationally, more than 2 out of 5 people facing hunger may not qualify for SNAP benefits due to income limits. In FeedMore WNY's service area, 34% of people facing hunger may not qualify for SNAP and 26% of children facing hunger may not qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Duperree said Salvation Army clients frequently describe how their budgets are too tight to meet all their living expenses. 'Their rents have gone up so high, in such a short period of time, that by the time they pay their rent, the resources they have left over is barely enough,' he said. 'A recurring story at Salvation Army is that 'if it weren't for the meal I get here if it weren't for the food pantry, I wouldn't be able to make ends meet.' ' 'It's tough enough for the adults, but the childhood factor is just very concerning,' Duperree said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Niagara County sees an increase in food insecurity
Food insecurity has increased in Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in the past year, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and meal programs. The latest results of the annual Map the Meal Gap study show that Niagara County's overall food insecurity rate has reached 13.3%, up from 12.6% in 2022. Among Niagara County's children, 19% face a lack of sufficient food, compared to 17.9% in 2022. 'When you tell me it's 19% for children — most school districts now are providing free meals,' said Major Tom Duperree of the Salvation Army of Lockport, which operates a food pantry and soup kitchen with groceries from FeedMore WNY and other donors. 'So it's evening time for the children because they're being fed in the daytime hours. It's alarming to me.' Duperree, who stocked shelves in the Salvation Army's food pantry Wednesday, has seen demand for the organization's meals and pantry items increase. But there's a new dimension to hunger developing with children. 'Late last year, I remember a high school teacher coming here, and there were two students,' he said. 'The parents had said to both of these children, 'Because you have a part-time job after school, you're no longer getting fed here.' One of the teachers took the lead in bringing the students down here to learn to navigate the food pantry.' According to Denyel Beiter, spokesperson for the Lockport City School District, all district students receive free breakfast and lunch through the US Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Provision. Beiter said the district was approved for the program because its poverty rate is over 60%. Mark Laurrie, superintendent of Niagara Falls City School District, said the study's findings of a 6% increase in food insecurity was not a surprise. 'I think that's conservative.' He said 82% of Niagara Falls students use the district's free breakfast and lunch program. Laurrie said announcing a snow day on a Friday is one of the hardest decisions he makes because he knows children will go without food all weekend. 'Abate Elementary has 650 kids, and does 86 backpacks for each weekend,' he said of filling bags with food for children. 'In every one of our elementary schools, we have a backpack program for the weekend,' Laurrie said. 'In our middle schools and high school, we have a food pantry and our social workers are taking kids to that pantry.' Since 2021, the number of people relying on FeedMore WNY, a hunger relief organization, increased by 46%. The need for supplemental food is driven by high grocery store prices, job loss, and increases in other costs, FeedMore said. 'These are community members of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances, including families working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet, older adults surviving on fixed incomes, people living with disabilities, and children,' Collin Bishop, chief communications officer for FeedMore WNY. Nationally, more than 2 out of 5 people facing hunger may not qualify for SNAP benefits due to income limits. In FeedMore WNY's service area, 34% of people facing hunger may not qualify for SNAP and 26% of children facing hunger may not qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Duperree said Salvation Army clients frequently describe how their budgets are too tight to meet all their living expenses. 'Their rents have gone up so high, in such a short period of time, that by the time they pay their rent, the resources they have left over is barely enough,' he said. 'A recurring story at Salvation Army is that 'if it weren't for the meal I get here if it weren't for the food pantry, I wouldn't be able to make ends meet.' ' 'It's tough enough for the adults, but the childhood factor is just very concerning,' Duperree said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
How you can help curb hunger at your local Wegmans
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you're planning on heading out to grocery shop at any Wegmans in the area now until June 18, you can fill a backpack for a child in need with just $5. 'All you have to do is go to the register and when you're checking out your groceries, make a donation,' said Wegmans Spokesperson Michele Mehaffy. 'Three dollars, or $5, or really any amount helps. We are hoping to collect enough to be able to properly give 35,000 backpacks out this year.' Donations go directly to FeedMore WNY's program 'Fill the Backpack!' which provides shelf-stable food for local kids outside of school. This year's campaign goal will allow almost half a year of service for 65 schools, if reached. 'Because it's in schools to students directly, it's not an open pantry program, we have to fund all of the backpack program through private funds, through grants, through campaigns like this, through individual donations,' said Cait Evans, FeedMore WNY chief development officer. 'So, you're quite literally allowing us to purchase the food that will go directly to students so that they have those items in their home.' Inside each backpack are nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals like canned tuna or chicken, mac and cheese, and granola bars, helping to fight food insecurity when school meals aren't available.'About 1 in 5 children in Western New York, Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua counties are struggling with food insecurity and many of them are going to schools where they may be getting free or reduced lunch options for breakfast and lunch,' said Evans. 'When that weekend comes or the summer months come there may not be that amount of food access there that they're typically used to, so this type of program really ensures that those grocery items are in the household.'FeedMore has teamed up with Wegmans, WIVB News 4 and Renewal by Andersen to help fill the backpacks. Mehaffy says Wegmans has supported this campaign for over a decade, with the need in the community making it personal. Doing your part is as easy as heading to any Western New York Wegmans location and donating at the register before June 18. Gwyn Napier is a reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hunger relief organizations piecing together resources
Niagara County hunger relief organizations are piecing together what's left of funding and resources for putting food on their clients' tables. Last week, FeedMore WNY, which assists many Niagara County agencies, lost access to $3.5 million in food products after the Commodity Credit Corporation program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was cut. Other organizations are in similar funding limbo. The United Way of Greater Niagara was notified Jan. 27 that funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide food and shelter to families that need assistance was 'paused.' Andrea Gray, United Way president and CEO, said the $82,000 that was allocated could have supported food banks. Eleven agencies applied for support under the grant, but the applications must remain on hold. Brendan Conley, chairman of the advisory board for the Salvation Army of Lockport, said with daily changes at the federal level this month, there has been no time 'to read and react.' Salvation Army of Lockport has yet to quantify the impact that cuts are having on its food pantry operation and the Sister Mary Loretto Memorial Community Soup Kitchen. Conley said the demand for hunger relief in the Lockport area is greater now than ever. The impact on people's lives is real and discernible,' he said. 'When you go about cutting programs, trying to save federal tax dollars, that might seem well intentioned. But when you're not judicious about where the cuts are made, you're damaging the most vulnerable people in our communities.' Conley said that up to 100 people a day come to the Lockport soup kitchen. 'Our vulnerable population and homeless population have been increasing the last several years,' Conley said. 'It places a larger burden on these types of services. Partners like FeedMore are relied upon heavily. There's going to be consequences and fallout from all of this.' Intercommunity Services of Ransomville operates the Care n Share food pantry at the former W.H. Stevenson Elementary School. According to treasurer Claudia Fleckenstein, the program serves 150 to 170 individuals each month from Ransomville, Youngstown, Sanborn, Lewiston, Cambria and the Tuscarora Reservation. On the third Saturday of every month, the Ransomville site hosts a mobile food pantry open to anyone in Niagara County. Fleckenstein said the truck brings five-pound bags of potatoes, yams, apples, and other produce. 'We have recently had eggs, which was unusual, and periodically we get butter,' she said. Hams and other meats have also been available. Fleckenstein said state grants such as Nourish New York seem to remain intact. 'We're kind of feeling our way through this,' Fleckenstein said. 'We have a budget and we'll have to see in three months how we do.' In the meantime, grassroots support has been extremely valuable to the organization. 'There's been four or five different boy scout troops that collected goods for us and donated them to the food pantry,' she said. 'They have really helped us out. Many of the local churches are regular donors. We've been encouraging some groups to buy soaps, body wash, shampoo.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FeedMore WNY to lose $3.5M worth of food after federal funding canceled
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — FeedMore WNY is facing a multi-million dollar loss of food after a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) program, a main federal funding source for FeedMore, was terminated, the organization announced Wednesday. The United States Department of Agriculture said $500 million worth of food purchases for The Emergency Food Assistance Program funded by CCC was 'permanently canceled.' FeedMore WNY said it will lose over $3.5 million worth of food due to the cancelation. The organization said between May and August 2025, 12 pending orders from CCC, which would include chicken, turkey, pork, cheese and eggs, have been canceled. The orders accounted for 13 percent of the total amount of food FeedMore distributed in 2024, according to Catherine Shick, FeedMore WNY's public relations manager. 'This is a significant funding cut for FeedMore Western New York and it's coming at a time when we know there is increased demand for food assistance in our community,' she said. 'We know about 2.1 million pounds of food that we distributed last year came from the funding for food purchases through CCC.' The organization said there was a 46 percent increase since 2021 in the number of people it serves across Western New York, with last year's numbers totaling 165,722. 'FeedMore WNY is deeply disappointed to learn of the cancelation of food purchases funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation,' Collin Bishop, FeedMore WNY's chief communications officer said in a statement. 'These additional funds did not simply help us during the pandemic; they have been essential as we serve an increasing number of people who are food insecure.' Shick said FeedMore's services are not going away and it will continue to provide food and support to the community. Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
