Charities, Pols Lend Hand To Hungry Local Families

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman Mike Miller held a press conference last Tuesday, Oct. 19, prior to the distribution of boxes of food and supplies by Feed the Children to needy families at the Seuffert Bandshell parking lot in Forest Park. Also shown in the photo are Dawn Puricelli of Avon, Tony Sellars of Feed the Children, Tony Miranda of Elohim Community Development Corporation in Richmond Hill, students from P.S. 253 in Richmond Hill and New York Mets mascot Mr. Met. Forty volunteers and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. worked with Feed The Children and Avon during a food distribution for families in need in Queens at Forest Park last Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 19.

As noted, three semi tractor-trailers full of food and supplies arrived at the George Seuffert Bandshell parking lot on Forest Park Drive to help 1,200 families previously identified as most in need. The delivery was made after the senator’s staff contacted emergency food programs in his district.

People wait in line to receive food and supplies distributed by Feed the Children at the Seuffert Bandshell parking lot last Tuesday. Collaborating local food pantries and soup kitchens including the Ridgewood Older Adult Center and Services and Elohim Community Development Center in Richmond Hill distributed 1,200 vouchers before the distribution last Tuesday.

The Forest Park effort was latest stop on Feed The Children’s Americans Feeding Americans Caravan, which has helped more than 160,000 families across the country in cities that have been affected by the nation’s prolonged economic downturn. Feed The Children’s goal is to help at least 200,000 families with the caravan by the end of 2010. Last Tuesday morning, seven trucks went to the 369th Armory in Harlem where Feed The Children served 2,800 families who had received vouchers.

The vouchers were divided and distributed among the food pantries and soup kitchens to one in every three families who sought assistance every week. Families with vouchers picked up three boxes from corporate donors Avon, Kraft, Procter & Gamble and many more, including a 25- pound box of food, a 10-pound box of personal care items, and a box of Avon products which had a recruiting tool to empower women to be their own bosses and harness their entrepreneurial spirit through the Avon opportunity.

A total of 4,000 New York City families were helped by this event, only the second New York City stop on the caravan since it began in 2009.

At Forest Park, Feed The Children representatives helped Addabbo, Dawn Puricelli, Head of Product Line Control Avon North America, dozens of volunteers including students at Richmond Hill’s P.S. 254 and New York Mets mascot Mr. Met to give out the boxes and greet the families.

“We can’t do this alone. There’s a growing need in our borough and in our district,” Addabbo said in a statement. “Since the harsh recession began, the meals served by food pantries and soup kitchens in Queens rose 106 percent between 2006 and 2009, an additional 14.3 million meals. ‘Food insecurity’ is a term that was coined to define households that are uncertain of having or acquiring enough food for all those members. Overall, some 87,500 Queens households were either unable to obtain enough food for their families or were uncertain about having enough food.”

“Our local programs help the unemployed and vulnerable persons, who are the face of the steep, prolonged downturn in our economy, which created this unprecedented demand for food,” the senator added. “We have to raise awareness of this need and do what we can to help people through this difficult time.”

Tony Sellars, Feed The Children spokesperson, said: “Our trucks and their drivers are on the road, going across our country to deliver food to local partners in the big cities—we rely on local agencies to work as our foot soldiers when we come into their cities. Only with their help can we put resources into the hands of those most in need. The number of children in the state of New York living in poverty could fill Madison Square Garden 44 times. This year, as we’ve traveled to inner cities, we saw that hunger is border to border, coast to coast.

Dawn Puricelli of Avon added, “This outreach to the local community doesn’t end today. Sponsors like Avon will continue joining the FTC caravan as it travels to other towns and cities. We gave a box of products to each family and something special for empowering women opening that box, to boost their self esteem. I call it a ‘Mom Box’ because there’s also something inside that will help women to earn income. It’s our way of caring for women. We’re happy to be a sponsor and we’re going to continue this effort.”

Tony Miranda, director of Elohim Community Development Corporation in Richmond Hill, was “overwhelmed” by this extra donation of items, designed to help a family for up to one week.

“Our food pantry has expanded and we’re now helping 1,600 families per week,” Miranda said. “We were providing over 600 families and individuals a week with free groceries. Each of our food package provides a family with one complete meal per week and supplemental groceries like cereal and fruit. Queens is considered by some of our food providers closer to Manhattan as being ‘way out there,’ but we have 2.3 million population in this county alone. There are 480,000 families at risk of food insecurity in Queens.”