A SOMBER MILESTONE

Lori Fletcher, a parishioner at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, has volunteered with her husband for a staggering 68 food drives run by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany since the pandemic started.

“We started back in March … and missed just a couple, but we really enjoyed doing it,” she said.

Throughout the year, as the calls for volunteers to help fight food insecurity were made, the Fletchers continued to show up.

Fletcher recalled a few drives that were especially difficult during the cold, winter months; sorting through food and registering people in freezing temperatures. After one particularly cold drive, she said it took her over three hours to get warm. Still, she doesn’t plan to stop.

“We really feel like we’re doing the Lord’s work,” Fletcher said. “It’s kind of like we’re Jesus’ hands and feet.”

On March 23, Catholic Charities hit its own food-drive milestone: its 100th drive-thru food distribution since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The landmark event was held at 833 Broadway in Albany — which the Fletchers volunteered at — with both drive-thru and walk-up food distribution available. The food drive was made possible thanks to the partnership between Catholic Charities, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Capital District Area Labor Federation, and Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP).

“It’s a sobering number that we have to do it that many times, it’s staggering,” said Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, Catholic Charities’ director of Community Partnerships. “But then again, how great it is that people are willing to come out time after time. They keep showing up and they do it again another day.”

“It’s a mixed blessing,” echoed Susan Lintner, chief program & advocacy officer at the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. “It’s a somber occasion that we’re still here but at the same time, thank God. People are experiencing food insecurity for the first time and many people just need extra support at this time. When we started doing this we said we’ll do it as long as we need to.”

The food distribution, or “drive-thru pantry” is a part of Catholic Charities’ mobile outreach initiative, CC MOVE, to bring healthy foods to areas with limited access to brick-and-mortar food pantries. When the pandemic hit upstate New York, and food needs skyrocketed, CC MOVE’s food distributions jumped from one drop a month, to one every three days.

“When COVID hit, it was intuitive that they expanded the program in this way,” Lintner said. “They already had the infrastructure and Catholic Charities has a great reputation.”

Since March 2020, Catholic Charities has distributed roughly 1,400 tons of food to residents in the Albany Diocese — an over 600 percent increase from the previous year — to over 175,000 people across 55,000 households, all in under 13 months.

Even now, over a year after the pandemic’s initial impact, COVID-19 is still spreading, and the financial impacts caused by the job closures and changes are still felt. Just a few minutes after the food drive’s kickoff, a line of cars had already formed around the site on Broadway.

Fortunately, Catholic Charities has a “small army” of over 1,500 volunteers, who have shown up to at least one drop.

“The people lined up, they’re willing to wait two-to-three hours of time, so obviously there’s a need,” said Ashley Miller, a volunteer. “It’s just great to see organizations like Catholic Charities and the food pantries and the food bank that are willing to help people in need.”

Fletcher added she and her husband will continue to volunteer as long as they are needed.

“At the end of the day when I’m doing my gratitude journal and saying my prayers, I feel better,” Fletcher said. “I never thought it would be this many (drives). It’s so sad that the need is so high, but we’ll keep doing this until hopefully someday they say we don’t have to do this anymore.”