Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange joined U.S. Representative Tom Reed (R-Corning), State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) and Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C,I) and other local elected officials and school superintendents to help packs bags of food for children in the Southern Tier at a special holiday BackPack Repack event hosted by the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.
Food Bank President & CEO Natasha Thompson began the event with an overview of the BackPack Program.
The repacked food will be distributed to children through the Food Bank’s BackPack Program before the holiday break. The program provides students at risk of hunger with a pack of easy-to-prepare, nutritious food to take home every weekend and school vacation. More than 3,100 children participated in the program this year.
ABOUT THE FOOD BANK OF THE SOUTHERN TIER
Established in 1981 and headquartered in Elmira, NY, the Food Bank of the Southern Tier distributes food and other grocery products to people in need through a network of more than 160 member agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other hunger relief organizations in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. The Food Bank also administers several direct service food distribution programs including the BackPack Program and Mobile Food Pantry. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and a regional agency of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. The Food Bank’s mission is to work together to build and sustain hunger free communities throughout the Southern Tier.
A twitter handle – @Rescuing911 – and a YouTube Channel have been created to allow the public to engage in the effort and learn more about how to participate in the campaign. To learn more about the initiative, visit: http://www.nysac.org/rescuing911