By MATT LINDSEY

The need for food and other forms of assistance remains high during the holiday season across St. Lawrence County as food pantries try to keep people in need fed, warm and safe.

“The need for food is consistent…we are seeing more children and seniors versus past years,” according to Potsdam Neighborhood Director Daisy Cox.

The number of senior citizens in need of help in Canton and Potsdam has grown over the past year as food costs have risen and Social Security benefits remained unchanged.

In Canton, considered by some to be the hub for receiving assistance, people from all walks of life including the homeless and released inmates are turning to food pantries for help.

Assistance For Seniors Increases

The overall number of people receiving food from the Potsdam Neighborhood Center has remained fairly unchanged but the number of seniors using the program has gone up about 30 percent, Cox said.

Cox said an increase in the cost of living is the driving force behind more seniors needing help. For just the third time in four decades, Social Security recipients won't get an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

“Income is not keeping pace with the cost of living,” she said.

Cox said that the cost of living in this area is high and even through fuel prices are down people do not know what the future holds.

“There is a lot of emotion involved…nobody ever wakes up and says they want to go to a food pantry,” Cox said.

The center can provide a three-day pack package of food each month to a family with five three-day emergency packages available annually.

Cox also has been helping out at the Canton Neighborhood Center while they go through transitions from one director to another.

She described the need in Canton as “stable.”

Cox said the Canton center sees less families because there are more community dinners, programs and the Church and Community Program providing food and support for the community.

“We value private donations from groups and individuals that donate money or hold food drives,” she said. “Monetary donations are sometimes better than donating food. Someone could buy a box of cereal for $3 and donate it or we could use that $3 to purchase food in bulk at a cheaper price.”

Both neighborhood centers receive food from many organizations both locally and regionally.

“We get donations from local farmers and gardeners but that dries up this time of year,” she said.

In Potsdam, The Potsdam Food Co-op, 24 Elm St., has started donating produce that needs to be eaten immediately so that someone in need can have it before it goes bad.

The center sometimes benefits from corporate givebacks.

“Lays might have a truck-full of chips to give away and we use that supplement food packages,” Cox said.

In Canton, Cox reminded people of the “vibrant thrift store” where proceeds go back to help support local families.

“We appreciate the patronage,” Cox said.

Cox wanted to remind the community that the hunger problem is not just a seasonal problem and that donations are needed every month.

“I love the fact that this time of year people think about others in need but this a year-round need,” she said.

The Potsdam Neighborhood Center is located at 2 Park St. and their phone number is 265-3920.

Voice of the Voiceless

The Church and Community Program in Canton is serving 11,000 meals per month which is up from roughly 9,000 from this time last year, according to Raymond Crosby, director of the Church and Community Program.

Of those meals, some are for children, the elderly and families; but some are also for the homeless and people with nowhere to turn.

“The forgotten people…that's who we see,” Crosby said. “I know where they go and we try to take care of them,” he said.

They could be people living under bridges. They could be people just released from jail.

“When someone gets out of jail they are only given what they had when they went in,” he said.

Released inmates are often in need of clothing, food, housing and medications.

Crosby spoke of a man with PTSD that was recently release from jail and had nothing. He had spent 15 years in the army and had seen too much and needed to get out, Crosby said.

“He didn't even have a jacket,” Crosby said. “We clothed him for free.”

The man had had no money, transportation and had been without medication to treat PTSD for five days. Crosby said, “I asked him, what do we need to do?”

The program was able to feed the man and get him on a county bus to Massena where he could fill a prescription through the VA Clinic.

“He is doing well now,” Crosby said.

Crosby described Canton as the hub of assistance for those in need. He mentioned that Canton has mental health counseling, alcohol and drug counseling, the Department of Social Services, the DMV and food pantries all right in Canton.

“When clients come they decide to stay around here,” he said.

About 60 percent of the people the program is helping are elderly.

“Their Social Security has been cut and they didn't get a cost of living adjustment because the government said there was no inflation,” he said. “So they save money by coming to us for food.”

Each child that comes into the pantry gets a treat because “food pantries don't need to be scary place,” Crosby said.

The Church and Community Program are looking for help too. They need to hire two people, over age 55, to work 15 hours per week.

This is a paid position that does not require a lot of heavy lifting but must be filled by a person over age 55. Contact Crosby for more information.

“We are probably the older not-for-profit food pantry in St. Lawrence County,” he said. “It was started about 40 years about by six churches.”

The program pays rent and does not receive government grants to assist those in need.

Crosby said his job can be “very emotionally draining” but that “people are very giving and it is very refreshing this time of year” to see people helping each other.

“It’s all about hope…that they can have hope and a future,” he said.

To contact the Church and Community program call 386-3534 or visit them at 7 Main St.

Helping Hands Needs Help

Helping Hands has grown over the last 11 years to one of the more diverse food pantries in St. Lawrence County offering vehicles, furniture, heating assistance and food.

“Our biggest need this year is non-perishable food,” said Program Director Tom Chappell. “We have a good supply of fresh vegetables and frozen foods.”

Items Helping Hands is need of include cereals, oatmeal, crackers, instant potatoes, salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, pasta, canned vegetables, peanut butter, jelly and jam, canned stews, baked beans, ravioli, macaroni and cheese, hearty soups, ketchup, mustard and juice. Non-food items needed are dish soap, laundry soap, paper towels, toilet paper and shampoo.

Even through the pantry receives donations on a monthly basis from seven or eight churches, keeping up with the demand of supplying over 700 families with food is a battle.

Chappell said they larger towns like Potsdam, Canton, Massena and Ogdensburg are pretty well served but the smaller towns often go underserved.

“We communicate with other pantries and try to fill in the needs,” he said.

A person living alone can receive a bag of u-pick groceries every 30 days. A family of two is able to receive two bags of groceries and families of three or more can get three bags of groceries.

“The food probably lasts them three or four days,” he said.

Even though gas and heating costs have dropped over the past year the cost of food and electricity is still on the rise, Chappell said.

“Just yesterday I did $500 for electricity…if you don't live in Massena electric is expensive,” Chappell said.

Chappell said that one way of helping locally is to hold food drives at holiday parties and events. A food drive was planned at the Crane Candlelight Concert and some local churches have began participating too.

“Instead of a gift exchange people bring in items to donate and its kind of cool to see the difference in their attitude.”

Chappell said former director of Helping Hands Cynthia “Cindy” Talcott would be proud of how far the organization has come.

“Those who know Cindy know she would be very excited to see how much Helping Hands has grown over the last 11 years,” Chappell said.

Helping Hands is located at 5868 State Highway 56 and the phone number is 268-0633.

Food Pantry Phone Numbers

Food pantries and Neighborhood Centers available in the Greater Canton-Potsdam area include:

The Canton Neighborhood Center, 5 West St, 386-3541; Church and Community Program, 7 Main St., Canton, 386-3534; Free Will Meal Program, 41 Court St., Canton; The Colton/Pierrepont/Parishville Center Pantry, centers are located at town offices in Parishville and Pierrepont and 9 Sugarbush Lane, South Colton, 244-0069; Norwood/Norfolk/Raymondville Outreach, info 384-4492 or 384-4629 and Potsdam Neighborhood Center Pantry, 2 Park St., 265-3920.

Other pantries and centers include the Hermon-DeKalb Junction Food Pantry, 4302 U.S. Highway 11, 347-1557 or 347-3251 Hopkinton Food Pantry, 7 Church St., 328-4168; New Beginnings Center, 3605 County Route 14, Madrid, 322-4307, it serves Madrid, Norwood, Norfolk, Canton, Brasher Falls and Massena; Alms of Love Food Pantry, 3662 County Route 14, Madrid, 262-0222, serves Madrid, Potsdam, Canton, Norwood, Norfolk, and Lisbon; St. Mary’s Church Food Pantry, 17 Lawrence Ave., 265-9680 and the Grasse River Food Pantry, 13 Pestle Rd., Russell, 562-3450.