Archive: Around Town

The coronavirus pandemic has had an obvious impact on families, schools, businesses and health care providers. Less obvious, perhaps, is how it has affected community volunteers and the organizations they serve.  Many volunteers are elderly and have been sidelined by the virus, forcing the temporary shuttering of several food pantries in Tompkins County. As a result, approximately 800 households per month may lose food pantry services.

To provide immediate local relief, Cornell has partnered with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) to collect and distribute much-needed meals for food-insecure families.  The effort officially launches March 31 from 1-4 p.m. at GIAC and will continue every Tuesday and Thursday during those hours.

"It's more challenging for families to access food right now, especially families who are low income and usually use the emergency food system, such as pantries and meal sites," said Amanda Palme, programs and partnerships manager for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. "With schools being closed, children are home, and a lot of families rely on schools to feed their children at least twice a day. And many people have found themselves out of work.

The university previously established a partnership with the food bank through the Cornell Food Pantry, an initiative serving the university community – run by Cornell Dining, within Student and Campus Life – that launched in October 2019.

Like other food pantries in the region, Cornell Dining places weekly orders with the food bank to stock the campus pantry. Now, it is placing much larger orders – 15,000 to 17,000 pounds of food per order, up from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds – that are shipped to Robert Purcell Community Center, where Cornell Dining staff offload and repack perishable and nonperishable food items. University staff will distribute these meals at the basketball court at GIAC in downtown Ithaca.

The organizers plan to provide food packages – each containing a three-day supply for a family of four – to 200 families on Tuesday, and another 200 on Thursday.

While Cornell Dining does not have the capacity to accept one-time food donations, Miller said people who want to lend their support can contribute via a fundraising link. The Cornell Food Pantry – which is staff-run and serves anyone who is a faculty or staff member or student – has remained open during the pandemic, and Cornell Dining continues to provide meals to students who are self-isolated, on or off campus.

Not only does Cornell have the means of prepacking, transporting and distributing food, Palme said, the university also has the willingness and enthusiasm to support the community and give back.

"Cornell has been a wonderful partner of ours. They reached out to us and asked what they could do. That's very telling of where their heart is at," Palme said. "They truly believe in the community of Ithaca and the people who live there. I was so inspired when I got the call and they asked how they could help."

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