Senator Harckham Food Drive in Carmel Nets Almost 1,500 Pounds of Food

Carmel, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham partnered with Putnam Community Action Partnership (CAP) and the Drew United Methodist Church here on Saturday, June 28 to collect almost 1,500 pounds of food and other items to help hundreds of families in need. This was the eighteenth food drive Harckham has hosted since 2020.

“We are grateful to the residents of Putnam County and beyond who took time on their day off to bring their generous donations to our event,” Harckham said. “People know there is a serious need for the basics during these very challenging times for an increasing number of our neighbors. Let’s face it, people are hurting, and we will do whatever we can to help them. A big thank you to Putnam CAP and the Drew United Methodist Church for partnering with us, and to the volunteers who helped. Without them, our event would not have been possible.”

This was a “Drive-Thru, Drop-Off” event. Volunteers collected the items from vehicles in the church parking lot. Donations included juice, canned goods, pasta, cereal, sauce, shampoo, soap, feminine hygiene products and more. 

“The overwhelming response to this food drive, which collected 1,440 pounds of food, is a testament to the compassionate spirit of Putnam County” said Marisa O’Leary, director of the Putnam Community Action Partnership. “It's an honor to partner with Senator Peter Harckham and his team to ensure this vital support reaches families who are struggling with food insecurity.”

Putnam CAP is a component of Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WestCOP), and its mission is to mobilize and efficiently manage resources, through partnerships and collaborations, to help low-income and at-risk populations achieve greater self-sufficiency. The items collected were donated to the PutnamCAP food pantry, which serves almost 500 families per week. 

“The Drew United Methodist Church was delighted to take an active part in this food drive as part of its continued participation to aid our large community,” said Rev. Elaine Pope-Joffrion, pastor of the Drew United Methodist Church and the First United Methodist Church of Brewster. “We thank Senator Harckham for bringing us all together with the sole aim of helping those of our neighbors who are most in need. We are looking forward to a continuing relationship with his office and to future endeavors that will serve our communities and neighbors.”

The church allowed the use of its parking lot for the event and provided tables to facilitate collection and sorting, plus chairs for the volunteers. The Putnam County Department of Public Works provided traffic cones to help manage drop-off traffic.

In the 17 prior food drives since March 2020—one each in Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Mohegan Lake, Bedford, Brewster, Pleasantville, Croton-on-Hudson, Somers, Yorktown Heights and Katonah, two drives in Carmel and Peekskill, and three in Mount Kisco—Harckham and volunteers have collected about 53,000 pounds of food and other items, plus almost $14,000 in cash donations.