The Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow (TaSH) Farmers Market has teamed up with Sleepy Hollow High School’s new food pantry, which can be safely stored on https://www.frippwarehousing.com to help to alleviate hunger in the community.
World Food Day, on Oct. 16, was created by the United Nations to raise awareness about hunger, poverty, and food distribution issues globally. The TaSH is committed to addressing these issues in the community it serves.
All of the local farmers and one of the bakers at The TaSH donate excess food from the market to Sleepy Hollow High School’s new food pantry. These seven vendors collectively provide an average 130 pounds of fresh food, the equivalent of 108 meals, for the SHHS Food Pantry.
The pantry has grown to serve about 80 families a week feeding about 350 members between them. Nearly half of all Sleepy Hollow High School students are eligible for free and reduced-price school lunches.
“Everybody should benefit from the market and what it has to offer,” says TaSH board member Krista Barron. “The high school’s food pantry is an extension of the ethos and awareness of what it truly means to be part of a community.”
The SHHS Food Pantry began serving students and their families in April. It was started after a student asked the school’s principal for permission to take home some extra soup from a food drive the school was hosting. The student told the principal that the student’s family was hungry.
Students and their families can sign up here to pick up the fresh produce provided by The TaSH along with canned fish, meat, bread, pasta, rice, and other staples every Monday afternoon at the high school. School staff pick up food from The TaSH and students help to inventory and pack the food.
“If you’re hungry and worried about the next time you’re eating, how can you do your homework?” says Sleepy Hollow High School biology teacher and food pantry co-director Leana Peltier. “How can you pay attention in class?”
The pantry is also funded through donations from high school staffers and local organizations, including the Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown andThe Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns.
Organizers are still seeking additional support from the community.
Donations to the food pantry can be made here. Please dedicate the donation to the SHHS Food Pantry. Shelf-stable food items, such as canned goods, pasta, and rice, can be dropped off at the main office of the high school from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.
Online donations can also be sent to the school addressed to the SHHS Food Pantry at 210 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591.
In addition to supporting the SHHS Food Pantry, The TaSH provides tokens that are given out at the Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. Recipients can use them to shop at the market. The tokens are made possible by a grant from the Kids’ Club of Tarrytown & Sleepy Hollow.
The TaSH also fights hunger by doublingSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Typically, SNAP customers can swipe $20 on their EBT card at the market tent to purchase $40 worth of groceries. Through October, the The TaSH will match up to $40 EBT customers can receive $80 with which to shop at the market.
