State Senator Harckham Holds Food Drive to Benefit Fred’s Pantry 

By Amber Michelle

Over 10,000 pounds of food and over $4,300 was donated to CHHOP/Fred’s Pantry during a food drive held on May 16 by New York State Senator Peter Harckham. Also, on hand to assist at the food drive, which was held at Peekskilll High School, were Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey and Westchester County Legislators Catherine Borgia and Colin Smith. 

“We had a great turn-out. There were 4 ½ vans full of food and many cash donations,” said Harckham. “The number of volunteers and people who came to the food drive was amazing. We actually had more volunteers than we needed. The event started at noon and people were already arriving to donate and help by 11:30. People are very giving and they really want to help their neighbors.” 

In addition to canned fruits and vegetables, rice, peanut butter, cereal, tuna, soups and pasta, Harckham noted that pet food was donated as well. “It really helps to have pet food. Otherwise if people can’t feed their pets, they end up having to abandon them.” 

“We are very grateful for all of the donations that came in during the food drive,” said CHHOP CEO, Cynthia Knox. “The incredible outpouring of support allows Fred’s Pantry to be a reliable source of healthy and nutritious groceries for those facing food insecurity in our area. Senator Harckham is a big champion for our community. With his help and the help of many volunteers we were able to accomplish something really amazing.” 

When the Covid-19 crisis hit, Harckham says that his office started getting calls seeking assistance with various matters. Many of the calls were from people facing food insecurity and those calls were rapidly increasing. A lot of the callers were people who had never faced food insecurity before and were now facing it for the first time. The other vulnerable group that Harckham identified was the immigrant population, many of whom are not eligible for SNAP or other government assistance. 

Harckham decided to use the power of his office to help by holding food drives throughout his district. “This is a problem that is not going away soon. Food insecurity was a problem before the pandemic and now it is a crisis,” he said. “People need to continue to donate. One-time donations are great, but more is needed. We need to provide systemic support to CHHOP so they can continue to do their work.”