You help support food access
At Shaffer Village Community, a public housing complex in Buffalo, a FeedMore WNY delivery truck is an exciting sight.
Talia Rodriguez recalls seeing children running after it, calling “The truck is here! The truck is here!”
To Talia, the Associate Director at the University at Buffalo’s Education Pipeline Initiatives office and Program Manager for the West Side Promise Neighborhood (WSPN), the Shaffer Village Community is a part of her identity, since she grew up there herself.
Through the WSPN, Talia works with the consortium’s 35 member organizations to bring food access to Western New Yorkers, like her neighbors at Schaffer.
“I’m pretty tough when it comes to bringing [programs] into my community — but I’ll say, this is authentic,” she says. “Everything about FeedMore has felt really good.”
On weekends, children in the Shaffer Village Community can access food through the FeedMore WNY BackPack Program.
In the summer, a client-choice pantry offers support to families who feel the absence of school-based free and reduced-price meals.
Through your support, Talia explains, “[FeedMore provides] a resource to eliminate a culture of shared food stress.” For families, she says, that stress is worse on the weekends and in the summer. She adds, “These [FeedMore] programs are so important to feed the brains of our littles.”