A group of Livingston Manor citizens launched a new food pantry last week at 62 Main Street.  This expanded iteration of the pre-existing food pantry outside of the library is a team effort headed by Maria Bivins (Calliope) and Iris Fen Gillingham (Gael Roots Farm) along with an active flock of volunteers, a long list of supporters, and many generous donations from community members and businesses.

In light of the increasing instability of federal food programs that lower-income people have relied on, the initiative has been well supported and already well received in Livingston Manor, where already approximately 40 families have been provided with food items in the initial weeks.

With increasing grocery prices and costs of living, “the need to expand was clear,” remarked Bivins, who was involved in launching the ‘Little Free Pantry’ on the side of the library in 2018.  “Even with the work of the Methodist Church and Shepherd’s Pantry [in Roscoe] we did not have enough capacity,” she said. “We had to do something.”

Co-organizer Gillingham of Gael Roots Farm, staged a ‘pay what you can’ farm stand this past season and was surprised at the active response. “This really alerted me to local needs,” she commented. She hopes the pantry will be one part of a long-term strategy to improve food security and decentralize/localize food access.

The expanded Livingston Manor food pantry, dubbed “Calliope & Gael Grocers” is unique in a few ways. First, it intends to keep its focus hyper-local, and support people in close vicinity to the town, not the entire region. In that vein it hopes to take the pressure off larger operations in the more urban areas of Monticello and Liberty and relieve Livingston Manor residents in need from the chore and expense of traveling to those locations. In addition, it is a ‘by choice’ pantry, which means that people can take what they want and need (up to 10 items per week). This is intended to eliminate the unneeded waste of a standardized box pickup, and in so doing, trust users to more efficiently manage their families’ food flow and needs.

Organizers have appreciated the flurry of local support as they rushed to kickoff in time for the hardships of winter. Going forward, they especially encourage bulk donations (i.e. multiples of the same items), as it makes stock management and distribution easier. Financial contributions are also welcome. 

“We don’t ask for donations from farmers,” said Gillingham, a farmer herself, “because we understand the pressure they are under,” she remarked. Instead, she said the food pantry hopes to support local farmers by purchasing produce in bulk from growers who are able to offer a wholesale price. 

To find out more about the pantry, opening hours, or ways to contribute, visit gaelrootsfarm.org/pantry.