Tackling Hunger

Two million pounds of food! That’s how much has been distributed to local food pantries and meal programs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. This was accomplished by an incredible partnership between County government, local nonprofits, and volunteers.

We accelerated two programs when the pandemic began as we saw greatly increased need from residents.

First is the Get Fresh Program which distributes fresh food to food pantries and meal programs in Rockland. This is a collaborative effort of my office, the Youth Bureau, the Health Department, Department of Social Services and Rockland Community Against Hunger which is made up of non-profits like TOUCH – Together Our Unity Can Heal, BRIDGES, Meals on Wheels of Rockland and the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center.

These food distributions were first held outside Building “A” at our Pomona Health Complex but once the daily vaccination effort began earlier this year, we moved the staging area to the parking lot of the NY Boulders Stadium. My thanks to the Town of Ramapo which owns the Stadium for jumping on board with this effort.

Rockland Community Against Hunger also expanded their Food Recovery Program which recovers food from over 20 supermarkets, retail chains, bakeries, and farms, and distributes directly to over 30 food pantries and meal programs throughout Rockland County EVERY DAY!

We know the pandemic impacted so many families, causing sickness, job loss and challenges we never dreamed of. Rockland Community Against Hunger estimates that 94,000 people in our county need regular assistance providing food for themselves and their families.

While I am so proud of this collaborative effort that helps so many Rockland residents, we know that there are those who still need assistance. If you, or someone you know, is in need of help please visit www.rocklandhunger.org

New functionality on their website allows you to search by name, town, zip code, or even day of the week to find a local pantry that can help. No one in Rockland should ever have to go hungry or worry where their next meal is coming from, and I urge you to reach out if you need help.

And for those of you with a generous spirit we are always looking for volunteers to assist in these efforts. If you have time to help out, please email [email protected] and we’ll share the details of upcoming distributions. Together we are tackling hunger in Rockland.