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Rochester’s largest food pantry to move
Rochester’s largest food pantry to move
Listen to this articleRochester’s largest food pantry plans to move to a new facility in the same neighborhood because its current location has been sold to a developer.
South Wedge Food Program will move to 555 Avenue D, behind the Lincoln Branch Library, from its longtime home at Calvary St. Andrews Church on Ashland Street. As a result, the food pantry will rebrand itself as the People’s Pantry.
“The last year-and-a-half has been a pivotal time in the history of South Wedge Food Pantry. The Covid-19 pandemic, and our decision to keep serving our clients, changed us for the better. We transformed into the largest free grocery delivery service in all of Rochester, serving thousands of people each month, either by delivery or from our front door,” said Executive Director Jay Rowe in a note on the organization’s website. “We met amazing people along the way and kept hunger out of the homes of so many who lost income due to the layoffs in 2020. All while operating on a shoestring budget.”
South Wedge Food Program began in the 1980s as a program of the church, and remained relatively small throughout the years until the pandemic caused many people in the area to lose income, officials noted.
“Levels of Rochester society that never knew who we were or thought they would need us were now at our door. Whether to volunteer or receive sustenance, they all gained hands on knowledge of food insecurity and a good dose of empathy” said longtime volunteer Moira Strouse in a statement this week.
South Wedge Food Program accepts donations from food to personal items to pet food. A grand opening event for the new facility will take place in November.
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