Officials, Volunteers Join Rockland Community Against Hunger Website Launch

Local civic leaders and volunteers gathered on the Rockland Jewish Community Center Campus in West Nyack Monday for the launch of the Rockland Community Against Hunger (RCAH) website, www.rocklandhunger.org,

The RCAH was founded in 2010 to help people in Rockland County work together to combat the issue of hunger. The website is a new tool in those efforts, designed to provide information for those in need and those looking to help. 

The kick off event was combined with a Rockland Get Fresh delivery, with approximately 30,000 pounds of food from the Northeast Regional Food Bank and Food Bank of the Hudson Valley being distributed for free to over 30 local food pantries.

"Many of you know because you've been coming here every month, we've been out here in the snow," said Robert Maher, executive director of TOUCH-NY and one of the organizers of the RCAH. "We've been out here in the rain and today we're out here in 90 degree heat. It's important to recognize today is also the million point mark since we've been doing this. That's amazing. What's even more amazing and more concerning is the food pantries that are picking up today will still tell you they need more."

According to the new site, over 200,000 meals are served by food pantries and feeding programs in Rockland County each month. 

"We think of Rockland as a place of affluence, but thousands of people in Rockland truly live in poverty," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee. "We have to get our heads around that. That’s our reality. Many of our community members have lost jobs and need temporary help. The number of people asking for help is increasing every year. It includes working poor and middle class, people who never had to get assistance before. The newly unemployed, the underemployed. Families that at least one parent working.

"The (Rockland) Get Fresh program is literally a lifeline for everyone who faces hunger, or what we call food insecurity. Telling a child to ignore the pangs of hunger is the hardest thing to do for a parent. Thanks to the Rockland Community Against Hunger, Rockland parents should never have to tell their child there is no food for dinner."

Maher said the RCAH grew out of people from the assorted food pantries and soup kitchens getting to speak to one another at the Rockland Get Fresh deliveries. He credited RCAH Coordinator Anita Dreichler for her work on getting the website running. 

"From (speaking at Rockland Get Fresh), they found different ways they could operate their pantries better," Maher said. "They found ways they could apply for grants better. From that was the birth of the Rockland Community Against Hunger as a network group to bring all the pantries and all people of Rockland County who are concerned about hunger together."

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and Clarkstown Councilman George Hoehmann also joined in Monday's event. Hoehman is also executive director for the Rockland Independent Living Center, which participates in Rockland Get Fresh.

"It's wonderful to see the not-for-profits, the religious community and government working together in the partnership so we can better meet the needs of people in our community," Hoehmann said.

"There is nothing more important than people going to sleep at night not being hungry and sometimes government can't do it alone," Zebrowski said. "I want to thank all of the community groups here. If we are going to get a handle on this problem, we have to do it as one Rockland community."
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This story was written and reported by Ryan Buncher and posted by Kevin Zawacki.