Harckham Holds Food Drive in Katonah

New York State Senator Pete Harckham held a special holiday food drive on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Katonah Elementary School on Huntville Road in Katonah and collected food and cash donations for the food pantry at the Community Center of Northern Westchester.

“So many of our neighbors are still facing food insecurity, which is why we cannot let up our fight against hunger in our communities,” said Harckham. “Events like this food drive help keep our local food pantries stocked and also continue to raise awareness of this situation. As always, I am thankful to all those who donated and for the many volunteers who made this a successful event.”

Founded in 1991, the Community Center of Northern Westchester helps provide food assistance to some of the neediest members of the Katonah, Bedford and Bedford Hills communities. The center follows the choice model at its food pantry, so families can shop for their food and choose their items from among the pantry’s shelves. Dedicated volunteers are available to deliver food to seniors or those with underlying health issues.

In the 15 prior food drives since March 2020—one each in Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Mohegan Lake, Bedford, Brewster, Pleasantville, Croton-on-Hudson, Somers, Yorktown Heights and two drives in Carmel, Mount Kisco and Peekskill—Harckham and volunteers have collected more than 50,000 pounds of food items and over $12,000 in cash donations so far.

The food drive in Katonah was a “Drive-Thru, Drop Off” event. No food was distributed; it was only collected. Volunteers collected bags and boxes of food from each vehicle, and there was no need for drivers to get out of the vehicles.

According to Anthony Pereira, operations assistant at the Community Center of Northern Westchester, the food pantry counted 957 visits between December 1 through December 14, offering food assistance to about 2,260 individuals.

“Unfortunately, too many residents are still food insecure in our communities,” said Pereira. “Donations like this go a long way to securing their needs. I am grateful to Senator Harckham, his staff and all the volunteers for holding this food drive. The community’s generosity, especially here at the holidays, is much appreciated as well.”

Clare Murray, executive director of the Community Center of Northern Westchester, said, “We truly appreciate the support of our community in meeting the needs of increasing numbers of seniors and children who are relying on our help.”