Latest news with #FeedMoreWNY
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about the Erie County Fair
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Erie County Fair is about to start with rides, treats, and fun galore in store. Here's everything you need to know before you go. When is it? The fair runs from Aug. 6 until Aug. 17 this year. Gates will be open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily. Things to do Every day is a new adventure at the fair, including a stunt circus, fireworks, a pig race, glass blowing, and much more. Check out the full schedule here. Popular 80s band Foreigner will be performing at the Grandstand as part of the Channel 4 Concert Series. The series will also include tribute bands, free shows, and a demolition derby. All of the events at the Grandstand can be found here. Nick Charlaps ice cream and Dirty Bird Chicken N' Waffles can be enjoyed at the fair, as well as boba tea, tacos, and more. How much is it? Fairgoers 13 and up must pay $22.60 at the gate or online to get in. Only debit cards and credit cards will be accepted, cash will not be. Children 12 and younger get in for free and must be accompanied by an adult 21 or older. Parking Parking will be widely available at the fair. See the map below. Parking is free in fairground lots. Deals Veterans and firefighters can get in free on certain days, as well as anyone who brings four or more canned food donations for FeedMore WNY on Aug. 6. Check out the rest of the deals on this page. Latest Local News 1199SEIU, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center reach 3-year tentative agreement 'GLOW With Your Hands' connects students to potential career paths Fredonia man sentenced for selling drugs leading to fatal overdose Everything you need to know about the Erie County Fair Seneca Nation acquires Rochester Knighthawks Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local food bank worries what ‘big, beautiful bill' could mean for SNAP recipients
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Thousands of Western New Yorkers are at risk of getting their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits reduced or taken away entirely if a bill introduced by President Donald Trump's administration passes in the Senate. House Republicans have already passed the piece of legislation, which is titled 'One Big, Beautiful Bill.' The bill would cut federal funding for SNAP by about $267 billion over a 10-year period. For the first time, individual states would be expected to make up that gap. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) held a briefing Thursday morning, where it announced the total cost for New York State would be over $2 billion. The legislation also comes at a time when food insecurity is rising across the country. Local food banks, like FeedMore Western New York, thinks it could be a struggle to keep up. 'Over the last three years, we've seen a 46 percent increase,' said Collin Bishop, the chief communications officer at FeedMore WNY. 'We're already growing without any changes to SNAP'. Bishop said the number of people who are in need of nutritional assistance in our community continues to grow and that the proposed bill could make it worse. 'If we add to that, we're taking away people's ability to purchase food from the grocery store on their own,' Bishop said. 'That's just going to add more to this charitable organization.' ODTA said in Western New York, over 22,000 people are at risk of having reduced benefits or losing them completely. Republican leaders are working to pass the bill in the Senate. It would then go back to the House of Representatives to approve any changes before it ultimately reaches Trump's desk. Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- 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
06-06-2025
- 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
04-06-2025
- 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.
