ROCHESTER, N.Y. — From fruits, vegetables and all the fixings, Rochester Family Mission is determined to fill the stomachs and spirit for their guests this holiday season.

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“We've been doing this since 1927,” RFMission President Barbara Thomas said. “In a season where people who are marginalized or are disadvantaged and the working poor, they don't have the resources. So we are here to help them.”

Thomas said they had already provided 700 baskets during Thanksgiving, carrying the tradition during Christmastime. 

“We support on average around 1,500-plus families, I say, that are serving around 700 for each holiday, but we end up serving quite a bit more than that just because there's more people that come through our door,”  RFMission Executive Director Warren Meeks Jr. said.

According to the latest report from Feeding America, one out every seven New Yorkers is struggling with food insecurity.

One of the most glaring examples of this is in Rochester where the rates of people facing hunger this year have seen the sharpest increase since the Great Recession of 2007.

“They have helped at Christmastime and Thanksgiving time when times were hard,” long-time client Vandell Vinson said. “But, you know, you come out of that and they were there to help with that.”

“When everything around you is increasing except for your paycheck, it's always going to be higher for even the average family,” Meeks Jr. said. “It's not just the inner city family that we serve. We actually serve Monroe County. So we see zip codes from all over. And what we're finding is that it's not just the city folks that are having a rough time. They're everywhere. Everyone. America is having a rough time.”

Finding the need for both its guests and team, greater than ever.

“Our whole operation is based on us having a van and transportation,” Meeks Jr. said. “And lately, yes, we've had some difficulties and some challenges with the RV van. It's been in and out of the shop and not working regularly, but that van provides us with access to going to pick up food from our donors.”

During the season of giving the organization hopes others can be a helping hand, so they can continue to return the favor year round.

“The volunteers are very much the core to our organization,” Meeks Jr. said. “It's rewarding. It is because you're right there and they have a voice, someone to actually talk to, and they have someone that they can say thank you to. It's a collective body of those in the Monroe County community that have the same heart and the same passion. And we share that.”