For a second year, the Community Care Fund of the United Way of Tompkins County will help the Food Bank of the Southern Tier deliver greatly needed nutritional support to residents of Tompkins County. A $4,000 grant will help the Food Bank provide BackPacks and Mobile Food Pantry programs in Tompkins County, where 14,000 people are food insecure.
In 2018, 331 children participated in the Tompkins County BackPack Program. This program ensures students have enough to eat over weekends and holidays during the school year – times when school meals are not available. The Tompkins County Mobile Food Pantry distributed nearly 400,000 pounds of food in 2018. The Mobile Food Pantry delivers fresh produce, dairy products and food items directly to sites where people need food and don’t have easy access to local food pantries.