Food Bank for Westchester Hosts 10th Annual 'Hunger Heroes' Breakfast

The Food Bank for Westchester recently hosted its 10th Annual Hunger Heroes Breakfast at the Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown.

The event honors agencies, organizations and corporations whose ongoing support helps the Food Bank meet the chronic demand for hunger relief in Westchester County.

The honorees this year were: The Volunteers of Saints John, Paul and Clement Church Food Pantry of Mount Vernon; The Community Center of Northern Westchester of Katonah; Our Lady of Sorrows Parish of White Plains; and Pernod Ricard USA of Purchase.

“Today we celebrate the tremendous support of our Hunger Hero Honorees. They have donated food and financial resources, or volunteered their valuable time to help us forward our mission,” said Ellen Lynch, President and CEO of the Food Bank for Westchester in a prepared statement. “We publicly applaud their commitment to community and hope their example will inspire others to join the fight against hunger…hunger that exists in our own backyard.”

“Combatting hunger requires effort and commitment,” said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “Thank you to all the partners who support the Food Bank year after year. Your hard work helps to ensure that there is food on the table in every home in Westchester.”

About the honorees:

• Pernod Ricard USA, Purchase, Corporate Service Award: Pernod Richard continues to fight hunger through philanthropy, food donations and employee engagement. The company is a valued corporate sponsor and wine & spirits sponsor of the Food Bank for Westchester’s annual fundraising events including the fall benefit, An Evening in Good Taste, and its annual Valentine’s Day Dinner, Take Heart Against Hunger. Pernod Ricard USA employees have participated in the Golden Scoop Corporate Challenge since 2011. The employees also donate food in company-run food drives and volunteer regularly at the Food Bank’s distribution center in Elmsford.
• The Volunteers of Saint John, Paul and Clement Church Food Pantry, Mount Vernon, Volunteer Award: Thirty-three years after the food pantry opened, it continues to meet the community’s needs with 13 dedicated volunteers and a pantry helper. The program serves about 350 households each month. James Powell and Louise Taite, who operate the pantry, make customer service their priority, running the operation as a client choice pantry, where needy families choose their own food, the way they would at a supermarket. The pantry offers a wide variety of shelf-stable and fresh foods, including frozen proteins, fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Most recently, the Saints John, Paul and Clement Church Food Pantry has partnered with another Food Bank for Westchester agency to host the Kraft Mobile Food Pantry one evening each month, in addition to the regular pantry hours, to ensure that the working poor have access to fresh produce.
• The Community Center of Northern Westchester, Katonah, Service Provider Award: The center has developed a strong working relationship with a local farm to purchase fresh produce regularly for the food pantry shelves. The staff and volunteers actively work to build their capacity to meet the needs of their consumers. In addition, the Community Center, under the direction of Executive Director Sherry Wolf, offers a portfolio of specialized classes to help its clients build practical skills to improve their everyday lives. More than 2,000 families came to the center for help last year – more than 10 times the number that came in 1992, when the center began. Of those who receive food from the Center’s Food Pantry, 35 percent were children. Volunteers gave more 50,000 hours of service in 2014.
• Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, White Plains, Donor Award: Since 2011, Our Lady of Sorrows has provided the Food Bank with direct support through its Brown Bag Sundays, a monthly program initiated by the parish’s Outreach Committee, which solicits food and monetary donations from parishioners. To date, Our Lady of Sorrows has donated more than $15,000 and more than 25,000 pounds of food to the Food Bank for Westchester through these efforts. The committee also provides direct support to other organizations, such as Furniture Sharehouse, Catholic Charities and Bread for the World, and advocates for the protection of human rights.

In addition to the ‘Hunger Heroes’ honorees, the Golden Scoop Award was presented to Curtis Instruments. A team of Curtis Instruments employees beat out 10 other corporate teams in a “fierce but friendly” competition to repack the most food in one hour, held on May 8 at the Food Bank warehouse and distribution center. The other participants were AQR Capital Management, Bunge, Capital One Bank, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Curtis Instruments, Dannon, Pernod Ricard USA, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, ShopRite, Stop & Shop and Webster Bank. Curtis Instruments repacked 3,446 pounds of rice. The grand total packed by all teams was 27,770 pounds of rice.

PHOTO: Food Bank for Westchester Board member Greg Werlinich, right, presented the Corporate Service Award to Jack Shea of Pernod Ricard.