L-R Kathy Purdy, CEO and Founder, Hillside Food Outreach, Mayor Mike Spano, City of Yonkers
Norma Vanable, a senior-aged Yonkers resident & Hillside client, Renee Redmond, Volunteer, Hillside Food Outreach
On Feb. 28, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and Hillside Food Outreach, a local non-profit that provides free and nutritious groceries to over 2,000 low-income limited mobility families, seniors, veterans, and the chronically ill, teamed up to deliver healthy food to a Yonkers-based residence experiencing food insecurity issues. The delivery was made to Norma Vanable, a senior-aged Yonkers resident whose daughter unfortunately passed away from cancer, leaving her to raise and feed five young grandchildren on her own.
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 17 million American households currently suffer from food insecurity, representing the largest increase since the 2008 financial crisis.
As food insecurity reaches its highest point nationally since the 2008 financial crisis, Hillside Food Outreach continues to deliver high-quality, nutritious groceries free of charge to low-income limited mobility families, seniors, veterans, and the chronically ill who cannot access traditional food pantries.
The organization was founded in 1997 in Westchester, N.Y. by Kathleen Purdy, who conceived of the program in honor of her late grandmother – whose kindness and lifelong charity inspired a mission to help others. What began as a micro-endeavor to feed a few seniors in their community has grown into an essential food delivery organization, now serving more than 2,000 neighbors in need throughout Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield Counties, each and every month.
Hillside Food Outreach is headquartered in Mount Kisco, N.Y. and may be reached at 914-747-0095 or by visiting HillsideFoodOutreach.org.
