Sen. Harckham and Bedford Teachers Join Forces for Mount Kisco Food Drive

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - A recent food drive held by the Bedford Teachers’ Association and state Sen. Pete Harckham collected close to 2,000 pounds of food and $1,570 in donations for the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry.

Now in its 33rd year, the pantry operates out of the United Methodist Church of Mount Kisco. This year alone, it has been able to feed approximately 110,000 people in need, 26% of whom are senior citizens.

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Donations were mostly shelf-stable, non-perishable foodstuffs such as pasta, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, hot and cold cereal, canned tuna and peanut butter.

The items will be distributed at a later date.

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 collected about 51,000 pounds of food items and more than $12,000 in cash donations so far.

“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,” Harckham said. “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.”

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According to Executive Director Trina Ward Fontaine, the pantry aims to build awareness about food insecurity in the area.

“As the only weekly choice food pantry in the communities we serve, we see demand continuing to increase. In September, we 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 Sen. Harckham’s office,” she said.

Volunteer Deborah Shepard also praised the community-wide effort.

“I truly appreciate all the residents who stopped by with donations,” she said.

“A hungry child will struggle in the classroom,” said Bedford Teachers’ Association President Carol DeGeorge. “As teachers, we are always worrying about social and emotional learning. Food is vital for this.”

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