Several food pantries in New York state are still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as they are struggling to keep the shelves stocked. One pantry that looks to fix that is the Olean Food Pantry in Cattaraugus County.

What You Need To Know

  • Food pantries across New York are always looking for donations and volunteers

  • The Olean Food Pantry in Cattaraugus County is looking to raise a million dollars to keep the shelves stocked for a decade

  • That campaign is on top of the help it already gets from area grocers and FeedMore WNY

Cindy Snyder has been checking in at the Olean Food Pantry since she lost her husband in 2019.

"It was very tough," she said. "I had a difficult time losing him and I was in a bad way."

Not only did she lose him, but she lost his income as well.

"I was devastated without it. Having to ask for help — I've never had to in the past. It was difficult to even have to ask for help," said Snyder.

In addition to partners like FeedMore WNY, leaders drop off nearly-expired food from a number of different retailers.

To help Snyder and countless others who rely on the food pantry, they have launched a million-dollar fundraising campaign.

Leaders say this could potentially help stock them with food for the next 10 years.

"You don't do it overnight, but it would solve a lot of our problems," said David Potter, board president, Olean Food Pantry. "We buy a lot of food [and] it costs us a lot of money, because we're always worried about having enough food. And so this will take a lot of the uncertainty out of it."

What Potter is certain about is the number of clients the food pantry serves, which has almost doubled in past three years. 

He says raising $1 million in such a high-need area won't be easy, and is relying on grants, public fundraisers and private community donations.

"Hunger's everywhere," said Potter. "It's across the United States [and] it's across New York. You have the working poor, you have people who are unemployed, you have people due to circumstances beyond our control [who] cannot get food. And if we weren't here, there'd be a lot more hunger in the area."

Shoppers like Snyder are grateful for the help and encourages donors to contribute to a food pantry in their community.

"It's a big relief, because it's a whole lot less I have to purchase out of my pocket at the grocery store," said Snyder. "And I know I can depend on being able to come here and get food when I can't afford to eat."