By Phillip Maughan
Local nonprofit members said not to forget that the battle for people struggling with rising costs of living and food insecurity does not end with the return of federal funding.
Late Night for the Planet hosted a session titled Nourish and Flourish Nov. 12. Madelyne Solan and Lilly Gillroy headed the event and spoke on the importance of local food systems and collective power.
The event featured panelists Ellie Jent, the chief development officer at the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity and Erica Olmstead, board member and secretary for Essex Food Hub as well as founder of Compass North Consulting.
Late Night for the Planet is an ongoing series of events and presentations that was founded by Plattsburgh Professor Curt Gervich. The late-nights are hosted by students in the earth and environmental science program at SUNY Plattsburgh and are open for public participation.
The hosts gave a brief acknowledgement to indigenous peoples before introducing Jent as the event’s first speaker. Along with her role at JCEO, she is a long time climate activist.
The JCEO is a private, not-for-profit community action agency that provides a host of services benefiting families. The JCEO has provided families with comprehensive early childhood education, daycare services, access to food pantries, work for helping sustain long term food assistance, access to medical transportation programs and energy service programs.
The main purpose of the Food Hub is to provide infrastructure that connects local producers to local community members through schools, hospitals, retail stores and food closets, Olmstead said.
The goal of such community-focused work is to strengthen the bonds with neighbors, Olmstead said.
“The most impactful work that I’ve done is when multiple different groups, entities and people are coming together and rolling up their sleeves and figuring out how they can make things better,” Olmstead said.
The panelists were asked about their non-profit’s involvement in SNAP, WIC, and HEAP, which are federally funded programs that assist people and families in need of food, heating and nutritional education.
“We help people connect with programs, realize what they might be eligible for, and then we also help them in the gaps. No organization can do it all,” Jent said. “Collaboration is a critical component to making these things happen. Our food pantries are there for days where snap may not get everything that you need.”
Jent said that the pause in federal funding has impacted the people that rely on government programs for assistance.
“We have neighbors who are going to bed hungry, we have retired seniors who are rationing themselves to a can of vegetables a day, and the community has seen that. There are so many food drives and individuals donating, and I’m not going to say that that’s matching the pace of the need, but it has been truly incredible to see people step up,” Jent said.
Conversations around these issues have been center-stage lately, amidst the pausing of many aid programs due to the federal government shutdown which recently ended. The panel touched on how in moments when widespread supports falter, it is important to do what you can for your community.
“I think what we’re seeing, this is exacerbating an existing problem that is very real, and it shows just how delicate of a balance it is. I think it’s easy to forget how many families and people are one car accident, one major home repair away from being in a position where you have to make some really hard choices,” Olmstead says.
