350 Pounds Of Food Donated During Peekskill Summer Challenge

PEEKSKILL, NY — Businesses and residents provided more than 350 pounds of donated food during the Peekskill Summer Challenge to help hungry families and homeless residents.

The Challenge brought together more than 80 businesses, organizations and residents, according to officials at Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP), a non-profit organization dedicated to sheltering and helping individuals experiencing homelessness and hunger.

“We were happy to participate in CHOPP's Peekskill Summer Challenge to support local Peekskill families. Alleviating hunger and homelessness is important to us and we hope it will continue to be a collective effort by the community in the future. I hope the success shown by the program in recent months encourages more people to volunteer and lend support, ” said Keith Beradi, the owner of the Peekskill Brewery.

During the initiative from July 25 to Sept. 25, CHHOP received over 350 pounds of donated food to support these individuals and collected donation boxes from 26 local businesses.

“We are deeply grateful for such a strong show of community support,” said Cynthia Knox, CHHOP CEO. “Every single donation makes a positive impact on someone’s life and we are so excited to continue working with our community partners to ensure all our neighbors have access to the essential resources they need to thrive.”

Hunger isn't just an issue in Peekskill.

Westchester County estimates 200,000 food insecure residents, which is higher than any other county in the Hudson Valley. Among them, 1,750 individuals experience homelessness, CHHOP officials said.

“NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital has been proud to participate in the Peekskill Summer Challenge to support local families. We’re committed to serving the community of Peekskill and doing our part to support CHHOP’s efforts to alleviate hunger and homelessness. CHHOP’s tremendous work this summer illustrated the difference we can make when we all come together as a community, ” said Stacey Petrower, president of NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital.

Community members, businesses and organizations can continue to act locally in the fight to end hunger and homelessness by:

● Hosting a donation box for nonperishable food items this holiday season inside their place of business or organization;

● Dropping off a food or new clothing item at their Jan Peek location at 200 N Water St, Peekskill, NY 10566

● Making a contribution at https://www.chhop.org/;

● Participating in one-on-one mentoring and/or job training of CHHOP residents.

To learn more about future opportunities to get involved, visit CHHOP’s website here.