‘KINDNESS’ EVENT
NYSNA runs food drive benefitting Karyl’s Kupboard
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Friday the 13th isn’t necessarily all bad.
This year, it happened to coincide with World Kindness Day. New York School Nutrition Association (NYSNA) used the occasion to host a food drive to benefit people all over Saratoga county.
Food drive donations benefit Karyl’s Kupboard, a food pantry run by Captain Community Human Services (“Captain”). The food pantry is one of over 32 programs Captain runs to provide support and outreach to those in need.
This year, because of COVID-19, that need is exponentially larger than usual.
“When COVID hit, we saw a 75% increase in our pantry usage,” said Sue Catroppa, executive director of Captain Community Human Services.
Captain has been in business for 43 years, and created the first youth shelter programs in Saratoga county. They regularly collaborate with other community organizations and will provide services and contacts for support to anyone that needs it.
The mission of Karyl’s Kupboard is to never turn anyone away from their food pantry. Anyone who needs food will get it. This food drive was a very important event for Captain,
providing a supply when there is a very highdemand.
Jennifer Martin, executive director of NYSNA, was excited about the idea for a World Kindness Day food and pulled the whole thing together in two weeks. Her staff at NYSNA are responsible for handing out food to students, so they are considered frontline workers who saw the effects of COVID firsthand.
“Families who didn’t need our services before, need them now,” Martin said. “Working with Captain on this is a perfect partnership, because both our companies’ missions are aligned.”
Martin’s goal for the food drive was “13,000 on the 13th.” She hoped to collect donations of cash and pounds of food that totaled 13,000. As of the food drive’s kickoff at noon on Friday, she was halfway there already, with cash donations totaling $6,500 so far.
Captain had been accepting donations for the food drive for a week prior. A special link on their website brought contributors directly to the food drive’s virtual donation spot. On the day of the food drive, in addition to making cash donations online or bringing food to the drop off point, raffle tickets were also available for purchase.
Two lucky winners would each receive $1,000 worth of gift cards, all donated to NYSNA for the food drive.
As donations of food were brought to the drop off location, they were weighed and then placed in the truck that would later deliver it to the food pantry. Despite the rainy weather, everyone was in a good mood as they worked.
“This is awesome, it’s going to benefit so many kids in our school district,” said Katy Headwell, director of food services for Shenendahowa Central Schools. Headwell was at the food drive with her family, who she had recruited to help out.
Headwell’s 9- year- old son Jackson, no stranger to helping his community, was glad to be part of the food drive. After each box of food was weighed, he brought it over to the truck.
“It makes me feel good,” he said. “It’s fun, because I get to work with people that work with my mom.”
Martin says her staff and volunteers were an integral part of the food drive’s success.
“When we said we were doing this, people jumped to volunteer,” Martin said. “I’m inspired daily by my staff. They’re always getting involved in their communities. They make you want to be better.”
“They’re amazing,” said Michelle Bauer, marketing manager for Captain Community Human Services. “They threw everything together so quickly.”
Martin and Bauer are hopeful that the food drive will inspire people to do more in their communities, especially at a time when the need for help is so great.
Martin added, “I want to give a shoutout to Miss Shen Softball Teams. We had two teams give us big donations this week.”
At the end of the threehour window for donation drop offs, the food was sorted and trucked off to the food pantry. Then the raffle winners were drawn in a Facebook Live event. Martin, meanwhile, was already contemplating making the food drive an annual occurrence.
While the World Kindness Day food drive may be over, the need for food pantry donations is still great. Food items and cash are always welcome. Captain is also always on the lookout for more volunteers for many of their outreach programs.