ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- A new food pantry will be opening its doors in Elmira to help fight food insecurity. On Thursday, August 1st, Dutch's Pantry will host its grand opening. The pantry was made possible because of a partnership between CASA-Trinity and The Food Bank of the Southern Tier. 

"The food bank and I collaborated not just myself, but our agency collaborated on another project," says Melinda Hester, Outreach and Engagement Supervisor for CASA-Trinity. "We were in a meeting {and} I identified that we have a pantry and it's really hard to sustain, and Matt from the Food Bank {of the Southern Tier} said we can help you with that. So we just collaborated over time. He informed us of a grant that we could utilize. It provides us with the money to fund the shelves, the refrigerator, the freezer, and all of the food."

On July 1st, CASA-Trinity's Dutch Pantry received a $10,000 grant from the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. Days later, the pantry was stacked with fruits, vegetables, canned food, milk, eggs, butter, and frozen meat. 

"The pantry is about feeding our clients. There's an identified need of clients needing food that maybe they can't get to the food banks or don't have enough of their SNAP benefits to get through the end of the month," says Hester.

Dutch's Pantry will be open Monday and Wednesday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Friday 7 a.m. to noon. If a client needs support over the weekends, CASA-Trinity says there are various options like soup kitchens, local church pantries, and more.

The new pantry is not open to the public, people must be actively receiving services from CASA-Trinity to participate.

The Elmira pantry is named the "Dutch's Pantry" after the passing of Eugene "Dutch" Pettibone father of CASA-Trinity's CEO Ann Domingos. 

“Upon my Father’s passing, the team graciously honored Eugene “Dutch” Pettibone in the spirit of providing food to those in need much like others did for his family," says Ann Domingos, daughter of Eugene Pettibone. "Dutch was well known in our community for providing food and help to those in need. He believed in giving back to the community.” I am touched and honored that the Food Bank of the Southern Tier will partner with CASA-Trinity as we continue our commitment to meeting the needs for the people we serve.”

 

The Food Bank of the Southern Tier added, "The belief that food has the ability to impact health in body, mind, and spirit; and we are very excited to partner with CASA-Trinity on Dutch's Pantry," shared Caitlin Price, Health & Nutrition Programs Manager at the Food Bank.

Food insecurity is hardly a problem unique to the Twin Tiers. It's estimated that one in six people in America equal to 49 million people, rely on food assistance provided by charities and non-profits like CASA-Trinity and The Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

CASA-Trinity says they accept donations and that can be made through this link. They are located at 911 Stonewell St, Elmira, NY 14901.