Food pantry workers must be eligible for vaccinations

There are many people, some of whom might be our neighbors, friends or even family members, who are struggling with food insecurity. At Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region, we serve 300 to 500 households, 700 to 1,000 people — each month, providing food to those who have none or to those who are seriously lacking enough food to get through the week.

Part of our service area falls within a designated food desert. We know that, without our food pantry, many community members would go undernourished.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have remained open, largely due to our two dedicated staff members and a few committed volunteers, and we’ve seen that demand has consistently been higher than in PRE-COVID days. Keeping pantries open and operating is critical to ensuring that families are not going without food.

But, in New York, pantry workers are not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination and these food workers are at risk as they serve hundreds of our community members without the protection of a vaccination. We believe they should qualify under the 1B category of essential food workers who are now eligible to receive the vaccine.

We urge Gov. Andrew

Cuomo and his administration to keep food pantry workers and the people they serve safe by giving them essential worker status that would allow them to get vaccinated sooner rather than later when it might be too late.

Sara Adams

Albany Health and Wellness Division Leader, Trinity Alliance of the

Capital Region, Inc.