Feeding Westchester says it is still serving record number of people 1 year since pandemic began

The pandemic is causing countless numbers of people to lose their jobs and struggle to put food on the table, and many turned to Feeding Westchester for help.

News 12 Staff

Mar 2, 2021, 11:01 PM

Updated 1,318 days ago

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Westchester County's largest nonprofit hunger relief organization is still serving a record number of people, one year after the pandemic hit.
The pandemic is causing countless numbers of people to lose their jobs and struggle to put food on the table, and many turned to Feeding Westchester for help.
The need is still greater than ever one year later.
"Pre-COVID-19, Feeding Westchester's programs and partners were feeding about 150,000 people each month. Right now, we've been maintaining steadily at about 300,000," says Feeding Westchester President and CEO Karen Erren.
Feeding Westchester officials say that before COVID-19, the organization was distributing about 900,000 pounds of food each month. It is currently distributing about 1.9 million pounds each month.
The organization has been able to continue to its mission of feeding those in need, thanks in part to the generous support of people in the community.
Officials at Feeding Westchester say another big change brought on by the pandemic is the drastic decrease in the number of people volunteering at the organization.
They say it was about 11,000 volunteers annually pre-COVID-19, and now it's down to a handful.
The economic recovery from the pandemic is expected to be a slow one, with unemployment remaining high, but Feeding Westchester says it is still ready to serve all those struggling with food insecurity.