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AAUW discusses food insecurity, importance of Potsdam and Canton food pantries

Posted 10/16/14

AAUW St. Lawrence County Branch members and guests who attended the AAUW's recent meeting brought donations of nonperishable goods to donate to the SUNY Canton Emergency Food Pantry. Donations were …

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AAUW discusses food insecurity, importance of Potsdam and Canton food pantries

Posted

AAUW St. Lawrence County Branch members and guests who attended the AAUW's recent meeting brought donations of nonperishable goods to donate to the SUNY Canton Emergency Food Pantry. Donations were collected by Priscilla Leggette, Lashawanda Ingram, Betty Connolly, Tina Flanagan, Courtney Bish and Melissa Evans.

POTSDAM -- At their fall membership meeting, the American Association of University Women St. Lawrence County Branch members and guests learned about food insecurity in the county from two speakers. Daisy Cox, director of the Potsdam Neighborhood Center and a Garden Share board member, discussed the work the 34 emergency food banks do in the county, the AAUW said.

Cox shared recent statistics. In September, the Potsdam Neighborhood Center had emergency food calls for 277 Households, including 275 children, 402 adults and 74 seniors. September, like May, are months when school is in session and the weather is warm, so families are under less financial stress than when school meals aren’t being served and when they may be juggling high fuel and food bills, the AAUW said.

According to new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the rich are eating healthier and the poor are still eating worse. The study authors add that healthy foods generally cost more than unhealthy ones and that access to healthful foods also widens the gap — many low-income residents do not own a car to reach supermarkets with better, healthier foods. They live in so-called food deserts, where the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables is poor, according to the AAUW.

In addition to help with food, Neighborhood Centers offer referrals, crises intervention and help for families and persons in need of shelter, heat and other essentials. Cox outlined some of those other programs that help meet those needs.

A significant portion of the county budget is devoted to assisting people in dire economic straits. The county share of the social services budget in 2015 expected is to be $33.2 million. (It was $30 million in 2013.) This includes programs like Medicaid, food stamps and winter heating help, AAUW said.

Much of this help goes to the growing number of working poor families in St. Lawrence County - people who are working two or more jobs at minimum wage. A living wage in the county would be about $12 an hour, if there were enough jobs that paid that much. More than 18 percent of families in St. Lawrence County live at or below the poverty line, compared with just over 14 percent across the state, AAUW said.

The second speaker was Courtney Bish, the dean of students at SUNY Canton, who spoke about hunger on college campuses. As the cost of college rises and students grapple with tuition and cost of living increases, more and more students are experiencing food insecurity, yet the issue is difficult to measure and there is little data on college student hunger, AAUW said.

Bish outlined the informal ways her collage helps students who need supplemental help, including an emergency food bank on campus. This is a growing trend on many campuses; the two groups most at risk are graduate student and international students. AAUW responded by collecting canned good and nonperishable at the door to be donated the campus emergency food bank, AAUW said.