Food Recovery, Recent News

TOUCH/Rockland Hunger in Local News Leading the Fight Against Hunger

The Rockland Community Against Hunger coalition was featured in local media this past month, speaking out and raising awareness of the growing need for help to provide food for food insecure residents of Rockland County.

Rockland Community Against Hunger (RCAH) and United Way of Rockland County led the charge to raise awareness and much needed funds in support of Rockland’s 40+ Food Pantries and meal programs.

Stephen Papas, President & CEO of United Way of Rockland County organized a press conference February 23rd, highlighting the skyrocketing demand local food pantries are facing due to inflation and cuts in SNAP and HPNAP benefits and announcing a fundraiser for pantries to purchase food. Steering committee members of the Rockland Community Against Hunger from Bridges, Meal on Wheels of Rockland County, Catholic Charities of Rockland, and TOUCH (the lead agency) attended, as did Senator Bill Weber, Assemblyman Kenneth P. Zebrowski, and Assemblyman Christopher W. Eachus, as well as Assemblyman John McGowan’s staff.

Speakers spoke out against the proposed HPNAP funding cuts proposed by New York State that would further reduce food security funding. “The number of people that have been going to food pantries in Rockland doubled during the pandemic,” Anita Dreichler of Rockland Community Against Hunger told Nyack-Piermont Patch. “Now there are even more.”

Collectively, food pantries served over 58,000 people in Rockland County in December 2022 alone, and this was before funding was slashed.
View the features by clicking on the links below. To donate to help local pantries buy much-needed food, please visit www.rocklandhunger.org/donate.

Steering Much-Needed Donations To Rockland Food, Meal Programs | Nyack, NY Patch

Food Pantries Face Funding Cuts | LoHud

TimeMachine FilmWorks Short Film on the hunger cliff and press conference.