08 April 2020

As the crises of the COVID-19 Pandemic and poverty continue to collide with each other, The Salvation Army is holding a Virtual Food Drive to help fill its critically-low food pantry shelves across New York.  Currently, feeding programs are seeing a 50% increase in participation statewide and we anticipate these percentages to continue to rise over the coming weeks and months. These programs are critical for our regular clients as well as the influx of people we've never met before who, due to the economic impact of this pandemic, find themselves in need of support. People like Michele in Niagara Falls. Or Helen in Canandiagua.

Michele has a large family. In a good economy it’s hard to keep food on the table but when she was laid off from her job when it was deemed non-essential it quickly became impossible. She reached out to The Salvation Army of Niagara Falls for help. When Michele came in to pick up her food she broke down in tears at the sight of the bags and boxes overflowing with food. 

We got a call from an 81-year-old woman, named Helen. She had come in last week in need of utility assistance. While she was there, we offered food assistance to make sure she was eating something but she refused. She ended up calling back this week but couldn’t make it back to us for the food, so we offered to drop it off. When we delivered the food, Helen had clearly been crying. She was scared to death to answer the door due to the virus. Unfortunately, the box of food we delivered was around 40 pounds and there was no way she'd be able to hoist it up the steps. We asked if we could just slide it into the door of her trailer. She held tightly to the door, hiding behind it as we slid it inside. Before we left, we told her “If you need a single thing you need to call us”. This was the type of situation where, if we weren’t dealing with the virus, we would have stayed for hours just to talk and make sure she was ok.

This is a need the Army cannot meet alone.

To ensure services continue, uninterrupted, we are calling for public support in one of two ways:

• If you are able, give. Thanks to our partnerships, every donated dollar can support up to 3 meals for an individual. Your donation is stretched as far as humanly possible to meet the food security needs for as many as we can. 
• Become a fundraiser! Our virtual food drive allows you to make a team and encourage your company, community group, church or sports team to join and fundraise as well. You can also make a page as an individual and share it on your social media, via email or text message or other social media community groups you belong to. 

Together we can meet these needs now and in the weeks and months to come!