A group of volunteers in Broome County are coming together to fight hunger within their community. The community hunger outreach warehouse is donating thousands of pounds of food to local churches and non profits as the need continues to grow.  

Lynn Green is one of those volunteers and says giving back is what she was born to do. Unloading boxes, her time volunteering at the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse in Binghamton, better known as CHOW, is time spent fighting hunger across Broome County and beyond.

“I was raised with very little money and I came from down south where girls maybe were secretaries, or they maybe didn’t do anything, or they got married and had kids when they were 18. I absolutely need to help people,” said Green.

Green’s days are spent filling up shopping carts with donations, which are then unloaded by local church’s and other non profits for food pantries across the region. She then takes time to tally each donation, as it heads to individuals in need. For CHOW, the demand for their food has never been greater.

“The COVID is awful, and without CHOW, I don’t know how people can survive. CHOW is absolutely fantastic and the people are wonderful,” said Green.

While Green is new to CHOW, volunteering is exactly what she needed, especially after losing her husband. For this retired teacher, giving back has always been in her DNA, and she does it all with a smile on her face.

She now hopes to put smiles on the faces of others who are given food in a time of need.

“That’s exactly what I’m here, just to help people feel good about themselves and I don’t care what color anybody’s skin is. Everybody needs to eat and they are welcome to get any food that is here and so I want them to be comfortable and to eat and to have enough to eat,” said Green.