In response to the COVID-19 crisis and an attempt to address the triple threat of crop waste, rising food insecurity, and food industry lay-offs, a rural food hub, and a local community organization joined forces to bring sustainable, locally grown food packages to households facing hunger in rural Northern New York State.
Emergency Food Package (EFP) Program
In late March, the Hub on the Hill partnered with AdkAction to create an Emergency Food Package (EFP) program. The program is on pace to deliver 65,000 meals by October 1st; providing fresh farm ingredients and prepared meals weekly to those most in need across four rural counties. The project has also injected more than $120,000 into the local agricultural economy.
Refrigerated delivery trucks
Delivery routes at the Hub have increased 20% in response to COVID-19, covering an additional 500 miles each week on top of the 2,100 traveled from the Canadian Border to NYC. In response to the project’s success and increased demand on its modest fleet, the Hub on the Hill is purchasing two new refrigerated delivery trucks.
Sponsoring The Cause
The packages are delivered in Thermo King trucks with support from local labor, including furloughed food industry workers. Thermo King Corporate and dealer Upstate Thermo King are sponsoring the effort through the significantly discounted We Move Food pricing.