Lake Placid Food Pantry Volunteers Bonnie Kausner, Suzann Fay, John Fay, Laura Carmack.

Lake Placid and Keene’s recently reorganized food pantries address a growing need; increased living expenses make it difficult for many families to put nourishing meals on the table. While the approaches to addressing food insecurities in the two towns are slightly different, the goals are the same.

In Keene, a food pantry operated for many years out of the Keene Public Library, but as a result of insufficient space and volunteers, they shifted from distributing food to distributing vouchers that families could use to purchase food at the Keene Valley Grocery and from area stores such as Tops in Etown, Hannaford and Price Chopper in Placid, and Aldi in Saranac Lake. A year ago, Vinny McClelland, who led the Keene Food Pantry, approached the Keene Valley Congregational Church to ask if they would be willing to take it over, which they have done.

For about four decades, the Lake Placid Ecumenical Food Pantry was located in the basement of St. Agnes Church, while its sister agency, the Helping Hands Thrift Shop, had been located at the Lake Placid Marina for just over three decades. As timing would have it, both programs had to move. The Pantry had outgrown St. Agnes’s space, while the Lussis desired to replace and repurpose the decaying Thrift Shop building.

Thanks to the Homestead Development Corporation, the Town of North Elba’s Local Enhancement Fund, the Lake Placid Ecumenical Council, Lake Placid Central School, the Village of Lake Placid, and the generosity of many individuals and businesses, a new facility that houses both the food pantry and the thrift shop was built where the Shipman Center basketball court once stood. In addition, Lake Placid Thrive and Thrift, a new not-for-profit, was established to take over the fiscal and programmatic management of the two programs, led by Linda Young, the longtime director of the two former separate but aligned programs.

Unlike Keene, Lake Placid Thrive and Thrift continues to manage a venue where individuals and families can pick up food for the week, Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon. The thrift store is open Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People can bring food donations and Thrift shop-related clothing/artifacts during in-person hours. In addition to food, the Pantry seeks basic “bathroom” supplies, such as toiletries, shampoo and conditioners, toothpaste, toothbrushes, tissue paper, and the like. People can also donate non-perishable food in bins at Hannaford and Price Chopper.

Deborah Mitchell, coordinator of the Keene Food Mission

“The new space is going very well,” said Linda Young. “Everyone’s enjoying it: the size, how it’s set up, and that it enables us to serve others. We love its central location and the building; most importantly, we love the people who come and our volunteers. We love the connecting, the listening, and the sharing. It’s about dignity; giving people their self-esteem back, understanding where they are coming from, and believing in them.”

The poverty rate in Essex County is nearly 12%, almost 1.5% higher than a year ago, with food insecurity for children nearly 20%. Most people hurting are between 55 and 64, and with women, those between 25 and 34, also being hit hard. According to research by Essex County agencies, lead drivers of poverty are a shortage of jobs that pay living wages and unaffordable housing and transportation.

“Volunteering is fulfilling work,” said Linda Young. “With us, you help make a difference in the lives of others; it helps people gain a purpose and meet others. Volunteering also helps reduce loneliness; we invite those we serve to volunteer to whatever extent they can. Having a purpose is good; it makes you feel good.”

Since moving to Lake Placid in 2022, Suzann Fay has volunteered with the Lake Placid Ecumenical Pantry.

“I’ve always been worried about people living with food insecurity,” said Fay. “I can’t imagine that we live in the 21st century and that there are people who don’t have enough food to eat. When I was nursing in Binghamton, we, on our unit, regularly donated to our local food bank. So, when I moved here in 2022, I started volunteering with Lake Placid’s food pantry, which serves between 60 and 70 families. Some have two in their family, some up to six or eight, which includes children.”

Linda Young, director in Lake Placid.

“The Keene Food Pantry currently supports seven families, 26 individuals in the Town of Keene,” said Deborah Mitchell, Chair of the KVCC Food Mission. “We typically offer folks $300 in food coupons a month per family, which translates to around $25,000 we need to raise yearly to help provide the basic nourishment for those families. Most of the families we serve also have some food assistance through the County, but for one family, they only get $25. So even though they are getting some SSI heat assistance, they are not getting food assistance.”

Mitchell said that several of the families the church serves are on disability, a medical condition that may prevent them from working or limit the kind of work they can do. She said along with high rent costs, medical costs, and finding jobs that provide a living wage, heating costs can be crippling, all of which cut into families’ food budgets.

“The support that our and Lake Placid’s food pantries provide are essential; they help people address basic needs,” said Mitchell. “We need volunteers to maintain a table at the Farmer’s Market, organize turkey drives for Thanksgiving, and help us organize special events.”

Some of Keene’s events include raising funds to help the Global Kitchen, which provides meals for Ukrainians, people living in Gaza, and many other places where people’s lives have been shattered by catastrophic storms, war, violence, and other events.

“It makes my heart feel good to help other people,” said Barbara Rand, dropping off food items for the Lake Placid Thrive and Thrift Pantry. “I feel that we should try to help everyone that we can. Thrive and Thrift is a wonderful place addressing an important need.”