HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WENY) -- The Food Bank of the Southern Tier had a graduation ceremony at the L, in Horseheads, this evening. The organization congratulated five people for completing their training to give back and teach the community about food insecurity and poverty. 

Jacqueline Bogart, the Community Empowerment Coordinator, did the same training seven years ago. Bogart said this training helps people gain skills in public speaking and politics to empower others... 

“The hope is that they will use what they have learned to go into the community and advocate for themselves and for their peers on issues that are relevant to them and their personal lives...and using their lived experience to raise awareness and dispel stereotypes,” she said.  

Bogart said people go on to discuss advocacy in places like Washington D.C., Albany, and anywhere in the Southern Tier.