Food distributions will continue in October
Photos by Tom Rivers: There was a long line of vehicles on Horan Road this morning for a food distribution at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company parking lot. The delivery truck was about two hours later than expected. The distribution didn’t get started until about 10 a.m. Some of the vehicles were parked on Horan Road for four hours.
MEDINA – There won’t be any more food distributions in Orleans County this month, but there will be more in October.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday approved an additional $1 billion in the Farmers to Families Food Box Program through the end of October. The USDA this week hit a milestone by distributing more than 90 million food boxes in support of American farmers and families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the USDA said.
Candace Pitts, a volunteer from the Iroquois Job Corps Center in Shelby, helps get boxes of produce ready. There were three sets of boxes – meat, dairy and produce – as well as these boxes with oranges, peppers, grapes and 2 half-gallons of milk.
Local agencies are working on the details for the distributions next month. There aren’t expected to be any more at the 4-H Fairgrounds. The Cornell Cooperative Extension had been giving out 1,200 boxes of produce the second and fourth Wednesdays, and often hands 450 boxes of meat and dairy.
The tentative schedule for October includes:
• Friday, October 2 – Community Action Main Street Store, Albion
• Friday, October 9 – Holley/Clarendon with location to be determined.
Melissa Blanar, director of the Office for the Aging in Orleans County, said she is working on the details for distributions on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30.
The truck pulled into the parking lot just before 10 a.m. There was some confusion because the previous food distribution was at Medina High School’s parking lot. This time it was at the Ridgeway fire hall lot.
