AMENIA- A Ribbon Cutting ceremony will be held at Sun River Health in Amenia, NY on November 15, 2023, at 2 p.m. to celebrate, in partnership with Sun River Health, the opening of the first Dutchess Outreach Mobile Food Pantry. The Mobile Pantry will provide local, fresh produce and shelf-stable food to anyone who needs it. Dutchess Outreach is excited about this partnership with Sun River Health.
The refrigerated trailer will serve as a mobile pantry for the Amenia community and the entire tri-corner region of Dutchess County. This also marks Dutchess Outreach’s official extension into the Northeast section of Dutchess Outreach. Thanks to a grant with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Dutchess Outreach has hired a Food Rescue Coordinator who will rescue excess or close-to-code food from local retailers once a week and deliver it to the mobile pantry.
“The opening of this program is a true testament to the power of partnership. Thanks to our friends at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, Sun River Health, and Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, we will be able to provide thousands of pounds of food to a rural area of Dutchess County that has long been considered ‘underserved’ in terms of food access. Food will be offered in a beautiful environment where guests can select what they want, with the same dignity and autonomy Dutchess Outreach is known for.” Renee S. Miccio, Executive Director of Dutchess Outreach, said.
On Wednesdays each week, Dutchess Outreach’s Coordinator will transport food to the mobile pantry, with an estimated in-kind value of $62,000 in rescued food for the year. Additional food will be sourced from Dutchess Outreach’s Urban Farm, local farm partners, and Sun River Health’s on-site garden. Sun River Health will staff the trailer, and the mobile pantry will be open on Thursdays.
