New York State Sen. Pete Harckham with Carol DeGeorge, president of the Bedford Teachers’ Association photo by James Person
1,700 pounds of food and $1,570 in cash donations for the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry
New York State Senator Pete Harckham and the Bedford Teachers’ Association held a special Hunger Action Month food drive todayat the Mount Kisco Elementary School,collecting more than 1,700 pounds of food and $1,570 in cash donations for the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, which helps to feed some of the neediest members of the community, including many seniors.
“Even in today’s drizzling rain, residents of Mount Kisco and neighboring communities brought their donations to our food drive, for which we are very grateful,” said Harckham. “People know there is food insecurity among our neighbors, and that we all can help as we are able. A big thank you to the Bedford Teachers’ Association members and all the volunteers who were here to help.”
In the 16 prior food drives since March 2020—one each in Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Mohegan Lake, Bedford, Brewster, Pleasantville, Croton-on-Hudson, Somers, Yorktown Heights and Katonah, and two drives in Carmel, Mount Kisco and Peekskill—Harckham and volunteers have collected about 51,000 pounds of food items and over $12,000 in cash donations so far.
This was a “Drive-Thru, Drop Off” event. No food was distributed; volunteers collected the food vehicles in the school parking lot. Donations were mostly shelf-stable, non-perishable foodstuffs, like pasta, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, hot and cold cereal, canned tuna and peanut butter.
Now in its 33rd year, the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry operates out of the United Methodist Church of Mount Kisco. The pantry has fed over 110,000 people in 2024, 26% of which were children and 11% were seniors.
Trina Ward Fontaine, executive director of the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, said, “We are building awareness in the northern Westchester community about the existence of food insecurity. As the only weekly choice food pantry in the communities we serve, we see demand continuing to increase. In September, we have fed an average of 730 families a week, an all-time high. We couldn’t do it without partners like the Bedford Teachers’ Association and Senator Harckham’s office.”
Deborah Shepard, volunteer manager of the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, said, “This community-wide effort will help feed families in Mount Kisco and beyond. I truly appreciate all the residents who stopped by with donations. Thank you to Senator Harckham and his staff for organizing this successful food drive.”
Carol DeGeorge, president of the Bedford Teachers’ Association, said, “These food donations contribute to the well-being of our students and their learning. A hungry child will struggle in the classroom. As teachers, we are always worrying about social and emotional learning. Food is vital for this.”
Pete Harckham represents the 40th Senate District, which includes the towns of Carmel, Kent, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County; the town of Stony Point in Rockland County; and the city of Peekskill, the towns of Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, New Castle, North Salem, Ossining, Somers and Yorktown, the town/village of Mount Kisco, and the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson and Ossining in Westchester County.
