Rockland Food Pantry Celebrates the Acquisition of a State Grant for an Improvement Campaign

By Barry Warner

Last Thursday, New York State Senator David Carlucci announced that he had secured $50,000 in funding for the nonprofit People to People Food Pantry Improvement Campaign. Senator Carlucci said, “In Rockland County, 30,000 people or 10 percent of the population experience poverty every day and do not know where their next meal will come from. This investment of $50,000 for the food pantry will allow People to People to continue to meet the ever increasing needs of Rockland’s hungry by expanding their warehouse to store non-perishable food and provide the synergy of working with other nonprofits.”

The Improvement Campaign optimizes pantry operations 40 percent by installing a mesh mezzanine and lift to store bulk deliveries of non-perishable food received on pallets directly from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the Food Bank of Hudson Valley, new shelving and racking plus efficient refrigeration units to store fresh produce.
Executive Director Diane Serratore stated, “Vulnerable families, seniors and veterans face food insecurity in our community. Currently, the People to People Food Pantry provides nearly 14,000 of them with monthly food packages. Renovations will take place during the month of August and the pantry will resume operations in September. The funding obtained by Senator Carlucci will have a significant impact on People to People’s ability to feed Rockland’s hungry.”
Board President Matt Rand declared, “The cost of these improvements is approximately $200,000 and we raised about $50,000 to start the project. The $50,000 secured by Senator Carlucci brings us to $100,000 and we appreciate the Senator’s support.”

People to People is calling on the greater Rockland community to assist its efforts to modernize and improve its pantry and food warehouse to better serve those in need. For additional information contact Diane Serratore at [email protected] or 845-623-4900.

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