Many federal government employees have been furloughed or worked without compensation for nearly a month. The Food Bank of Western New York will have a series of special food distributions for those impacted by the partial government shutdown.
WNY Food Bank Public and Community Relations Manager Catherine Shick said they are working with other food banks throughout the nation to see what’s working well.
“As the shutdown continues, we realize that many of these federal effected employees are missing their first paycheck,” Shick said. “We realize there are so many people who live just paycheck to paycheck and are just one paycheck away for needing food assistance. So we know that we need to continue to be there for these people in their time of need.”
Five distribution locations will be available starting next week. The first is at the Salvation Army on South Main Street in Jamestown next Wednesday and are as follows.
- The Salvation Army Jamestown, 83 S. Main St., Jamestown, 14701 (Chautauqua County) – Wednesday, January 23, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- The Salvation Army Lockport, 50 Cottage St., Lockport, 14094 (Niagara County) – Thursday, January 24, 2019, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- The Salvation Army Tonawanda, 46 Broad St., Tonawanda, 14150 (Erie County) – Thursday, January 24, 2019, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Eden-North Collins Food Pantry, 2059 Franklin St., North Collins, 14111 (Erie County) – Friday, January 25, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Olean Food Pantry, 8 Leo Moss Drive, Olean, 14760 (Cattaraugus County) – Tuesday, January 29, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We’re really mobilizing with these initial distributions,” Shick said. “We’re not 100 percent sure what to expect. Whether it’s going to be one family that comes or hundreds of families. Even if it’s one family we want to make sure that family has the food they need to get by.”
Shick said they are also planning special distributions for those who could lose food stamp benefits, which would happen by the end of February.
“We’ll also continue to provide further resources to our partner hunger relief agencies to assist with an increase during this time. The Food Bank is also preparing for additional food distributions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants in the event their benefits are impacted as the shutdown continues,” she said.
Information on these special food distributions also can be found on the Food Bank’s website at www.foodbankwny.org or by calling the Food Bank at (716) 852-1305.
