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| 1/21/2009 10:04:00 AM Email this article • Print this article | |
Putting the Friendship into Ithaca area food donations
Taryn Thompson
The Friendship Donations Network was recently the beneficiary of a contribution from the House of Shalimar as part of Local First Ithaca's Local Lover Challenge. The name makes it sound like a good organization, but what exactly is the Friendship Donations Network?
To find out more, we sat down with Sara Pines, who founded FDN in 1988.
Ithaca Times: How is the Friendship Donations Network (FDN) different than other programs?
Sara Pines: FDN is a unique program in that we're open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and we only receive raw produce or perishable goods. So that means there's a fresh food pantry open somewhere every day, seven days a week. Christmas week exemplifies the uniqueness of FDN. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier was closed for the holidays and could not accept any food. Two caterers called me asking if we could take five truckloads of fresh, highly perishable food, which included over a hundred cases of produce, 50 gallons of assorted gourmet salads, 2,000 to 3,500 quarts of juice and milk, and prime cuts of meat, including filet mignon and leg of lamb, plus deli-style turkey and chicken. They also delivered eggs. And the caterers said that if they had had to make more than one call, they would have dumped everything. They said to me, "if we couldn't have contacted you, all this would be in the garbage because we don't have the time or the inclination to make a lot of phone calls. But if we can make one phone call and deliver it to one place, we will." No pantry could take more than a few hundred pounds, but since we partner with more than 25 programs, we had no problem distributing all of that food within three days. Our sheds acted as our freezers and refrigerators. That's an example of how this program is different: the capacity to make calls, the infrastructure to safely store food, the mobility to distribute to 25 programs. A donor like the caterers can't go through the process of calling and delivering to multiple pantries because they have a business to run. It was amazing. I mean, we all stood there aghast. We couldn't believe it. The estimated total value of the food was $15,000 to $18,000.
IT: Have you been in Ithaca all your life?
SP: No. I was born in Palestine. In 1946, when war was breaking out, my family left and came to America because my mother was an American citizen. I have lived in Ithaca for 38 years.
IT: What led you to create FDN?
SP: I went to visit migrant labor camps in Sodus, New York, and when I saw the conditions in which these impoverished migrant workers were living, I just said, "We can do better." So I talked with the director of the migrant advocacy group and I said, "If we can get you food, clothing, furniture, over-the-counter medical supplies, linens, et cetera, can you come and get it in Ithaca?" Because I can't travel the 88 miles to and from Sodus - I'm 72 years old! And she said, "Sure." So that started in 1988 with donations from Tops, and we did that until 1991 at which time Wegmans started giving us donations, and they wanted us there every day - picking up seven days a week. So that was an incredible commitment to work 7 days a week. Before, we were just picking up several days a week from different supermarkets. But in 1991 when Wegmans allowed us to pick up donations, it became full-time. And by 1992 the director of the advocacy group had left and the agency fell apart. So I scurried around very quickly and put out a media blitz asking if anyone wanted to start a food pantry, and we switched to greater Ithaca.
IT: How does FDN work?
SP: FDN helps serve 2,200 people a week through 25 or more hunger programs. There is no charge ever for food, whereas STFB has to charge for their overhead, meaning the warehouse, freezers, coolers, staff, and transportation. So they charge 18 cents a pound except for government food, which is free. In season, produce is less expensive.
IT: How do you decide who gets food? Do the hunger programs come to you?
SP: They pick up food and deliver it to their pantries. They hit Wegmans, P&C, Tops, Ithaca Bakery and Ithaca Wholesale Produce. For example, Cornell Dairy Store called me and said we have 500 to 600 units of cider and orange juice. Every pantry has 1 to 5 drivers. If one of those drivers is out picking up other donations, I can call him or her and say, "Hey, while you're up the hill, could you stop by Cornell Dairy and pick up some donated juice?" They bring it to the locked sheds and leave it there. Imagine Cornell calling 25 different people. So they just call me up and then we designate. For example, the Wednesday pantry has 100 families who come, but they bring food home to husbands, wives and children, so the pantry might be feeding 300 people. We would then give 200 of those units for the pantry. The next day, depending on size of pantry, they will get whatever they need. One of us will call the pantry and say, "Stop by shed and pick up stuff," and they do it, so no one has to be there.
IT: What more needs to be done?
SP: We need our own cooler. We need our own freezer. We need to find a place where we can buy a walk-in cooler and where we can buy a large freezer. And we need to hire a part-time director to succeed me. At this time we don't have the funding. So we can't hire a part-time director but at this time it's a very precarious situation because when someone is in their 70s - I could drop dead tomorrow or be disabled. I mean, I never really know. When I get up in the morning, I say, "Hey I'm alive!" When you get into your 70s, every day is a gift. So succession has to occur. But we're very fortunate to have gotten the funding to pay the coordinator. So at least someone is being trained. The official FDN coordinator is Lisa Duggan. I'm a volunteer director. The whole organization, if you will, is at my fingertips.
IT: What can people do?
SP: We need funding. I want to recognize the United Way because they gave us $5,000 toward paying the coordinator. And the Service Leagues Shop gave us $2,000 for pantry operations.
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