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 Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc. |
| NUTRITION PROGRAMS | |
| "Our Nutrition Programs are committed to replacing hunger and
malnutrition with adequate and nourishing food, and the tools to make healthy
nutritious choices for family well being." |
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| EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY: Started in January of 1985 to provide food assistance to households in need. In 2002 our pantry served 2,727 homes which included 6,823 people. Funding: USDA commodities, Hunger Prevention Nutrition Program, numerous grocery retailers including Tops Market in Olean, Parkview in Salamanca, food distributors, and local donations. FOOD PANTRY SYSTEM: This system encompasses most of Cattaraugus County. There are now twenty food pantries in this system. Last year, we served 15,042 households including 39,071 people in the pantry system. Cattaraugus Community Action's role is to be a liaison between The Food Bank of Western NY and all the county emergency food sources. Funding: TEFAP, Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP), and local donations. For a complete list of food pantries in Cattaraugus County, please click here. LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY KITCHEN: Our soup kitchen, which was started in December of 1994, now serves dinner meals on four evenings per week, Monday to Thursday from 3:45 to 4:45 PM. This has been made possible through the help of many volunteers and the community. Much of the food is donated, and all of the labor is volunteered. We served 5,818 dinner meals in 2002. Our average daily count is fifty meals. Funding: Volunteers, Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP), Soup Kitchen Program, Parkview Supermarket, and many local donations. SUMMER LUNCH PROGRAM: For many years, Cattaraugus County was left out of any summer nutrition programs. In 1995 CCA brought this program to southern Cattaraugus County with three sites in Salamanca. To date we offer this program to twenty sites throughout the southern part of Cattaraugus County, feeding nearly 1,000 hungry children daily during the summer months. Most sites are operated in conjunction with municipal recreation programs. We also employ many area youth through the Cattaraugus One-Stop Career Center program, offering them much needed employment training. Funding: USDA, Cattaraugus-Allegany Workforce Investment Board, and many volunteers. NUTRITION OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM (NOEP): The Nutrition Outreach and Education Program advocates Food Stamp issues. Our Nutrition Outreach Coordinator provides information to Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties through the media, brochures, presentations, and training. The program also includes prescreening, assisting with the Food Stamp application process, advocacy, and transportation when necessary. Funding: Nutrition Consortium. EMERGENCY INFANT FORMULA PROGRAM: This program allows us to give formula in emergency situations. We will take referrals from any agency or group. The main objective is to make sure no infant has to go without formula between the time of birth until the mother can get into the WIC program. This is a limited program with very limited resources. Funding: The Food Bank of Western New York. JUST SAY YES TO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: A program aimed at increasing awareness of the need for fruits and vegetables to the low income population. The program uses many nutritionists working around the State. The program is designed to encourage participants to include fresh produce in their daily diets. Funding: New York State Department of Health. WESTERN NEW YORK FOOD RECOVERY AND GLEANING PROGRAM: This program will increase the food supply to the needy. Many area growers have produce that for one reason or another is left in the fields. We hope to work with these farmers to utilize otherwise wasted food products. Additionally the Gowanda Correctional Facility plants, tends, and harvests a garden solely for Community Action each summer. Along with the produce there is an ever increasing amount of food being thrown away at supermarkets, restaurants, and other food sources which could be recovered for this same cause. Funding: HPNAP, donations, and ongoing fund raisers. GREENHOUSE AND COMMUNITY GARDEN: The Community Garden is made up of twenty-three raised beds. Seedlings are transplanted from the greenhouse into the garden beds. A program called " Adopt a Garden Bed" allows CCA programs, area agencies, and the community to adopt and care for a bed. The Nutrition Program supplies the materials to the agencies and community so the garden prospers. Once the garden beds are harvested, the produce is given to the Food Pantry or the agencies or community that contributed. Funding: NYS Dept. of Health Operation Support and donations. |
Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc. 25 Jefferson Street, Salamanca, New York 14779 Phone: (716) 945-1041 Fax: (716) 945-1301 For information on these services, email us at amaitland@ccaction.org |