Olean Food Pantry’s Post

How Many People Does the Olean Food Pantry Serve? That's a valid question, and you'd be SURPRISED to see the answer. Read our blog here to find out. https://lnkd.in/e6qGNWMe #OleanFoodPantry #ServeWithPurpose #HungerStats #LocalHungerStatistics #CommunitySupport #EndFoodInsecurity #LocalImpact #CommunityUnity #GrowingNeed #FightHungerTogether #CommunityAlly #ServeWithCompassion

So ... just how many people does the Olean Food Pantry serve? Between January 2022 through September 2023, Olean Food Pantry served 39,111 people between Western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. Learn more in our new blog about the people we serve. https://lnkd.in/e6qGNWMe #OleanFoodPantry #ServeWithPurpose #HungerStats #LocalHungerStatistics #CommunitySupport #EndFoodInsecurity #LocalImpact #CommunityUnity #GrowingNeed #FightHungerTogether #CommunityAlly #ServeWithCompassion

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Jared and Miki and ask them some questions. Here's how the conversation went. What made you want to work with Hope House’s Better Food Co Project? At Crafty Ramen, our purpose is to craft meaningful connections, so that together we can create a difference in the communities we serve. We wanted to work with Hope House’s Better Food Co Project, because of their important work and connection in a community that gives us our purpose. Hope House brings so much support to the community we love and we want to help in any way that we can. What does a community food system look like to you? We believe everyone should have access to quality, healthy meals. For us, a community food system is a way to connect communities through good food, and for those fortunate with more than enough to share with those that may not have enough. We created this project to share healthy food with low-income families. Why is that important? For us food is about more than sustenance—it is a way to show people we care about them and that they are valued. To provide quality food to those in communities that may not have access to it is our way of showing them that they are valued and perhaps even provide a little hope. We’ve all needed a helping hand at some point in our lives, and with this project we can pay that back and extend a hand to those that need it today. What excites you most about sharing this meal with our community? To us, ramen is the ultimate comfort food, so sharing our ramen with this community is our way of giving them a big hug and saying we care.

Meet Itsa, the Associate Director of Equity, People and Administration at Oregon Food Bank. “Oregon Food Bank has made internal changes to continue to put the community that we serve at the forefront and to make them the priority. That really speaks to our mission. If we’re serving a community, and our goal is to be community-oriented, we need to lead with actions and not just words. Oregon Food Bank does that, and it’s a really beautiful thing.” Itsa’s story reminds us that food justice centers people in their daily, lived experience. It means that communities have power over our own food systems and that we are able to make decisions about what we grow, produce, distribute and consume. When we envision communities who never know hunger, we envision communities who can access food with safety and dignity. The Food for All Oregonians campaign envisions an Oregon where all people have access to food no matter where we’re born. Get involved this Hunger Action Month with Food for All Oregonians to increase food access. FoodForAllOR.org/Pledge.

Learn how Foodlink simplified its distribution process, sending 25 million pounds of food to 400 community partners across 10 counties in upstate New York. Read the case study👇 https://ow.ly/1rRK50TM3F9

2009 legislation started a non-core $100,000 fund to tackle food insecurity. Recently, the Vermont Roadmap to Food Security by 2035 was released. The roadmap stresses new collaborations, new funding, and even a new governmental office, all while acknowledging the need to "mitigate unnecessary duplication of efforts". In an environment of limited state budget, it's important to consider programs and initiatives that have focused on implementation at schools. What if, instead of developing external offices to track this data, develop programs, and consider barriers to implementation, we expanded the capacity of our schools and house the expertise there? What if this helped establish more core funding for our teachers who are already a first stop shop for our most vulnerable? Funding our schools and continuing to develop them as high value, centralized areas of support and care for our communities is crucial. Let's prioritize our teachers and students in the fight for food security. Maybe that means we put a golden dome on our schools instead. What if Leahy, Sanders, Balint and co were in line at your kid’s cafeteria? Check out the Vermont Food Security Roadmap for more information and get involved in the discussion! #FoodSecurity #Vermont #Education #CommunitySupport

This year’s #WorldFoodSafetyDay theme is “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected.” 1 in 10 people worldwide fall ill from contaminated food each year, which is why it is important to learn how to reduce the risks of foodborne illness. We are all responsible to preserve safe food throughout the supply chain, from farm to fork. 🍓🥕🥗 Read more about #FoodSafety at https://ow.ly/KiFc30sE5uZ #Donaldson #FarmtoFork #SupplyChain #Community #SafeRecipes #BACFighters

This year’s #WorldFoodSafetyDay theme is “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected.” 1 in 10 people worldwide fall ill from contaminated food each year, which is why it is important to learn how to reduce the risks of foodborne illness. We are all responsible to preserve safe food throughout the supply chain, from farm to fork. 🍓🥕🥗 Read more about #FoodSafety at https://ow.ly/xXRv30sE6lg #Donaldson #FarmtoFork #SupplyChain #Community #SafeRecipes #BACFighters

⏰ Missed the news? We've widened our food pantry hours to assist more folks in need, making access to essentials easier. Spread the news by sharing this post. You never know whose day you might brighten with this information! Let's make sure everyone knows about this valuable resource. #FoodPantry #FoodAssistance #FoodSecurity #HONOROCNY

Hey, did you know that the demand for food at our local food pantries has increased 112% over the last two years?!? #Foodinsecurity is a real problem in our communities. See the article below in The CAP Times with information from WayForward Resources, The River Food Pantry, and other local area food pantries on real statistics and how we can help. #communityimpact https://lnkd.in/gpCgFAAm