Support this fundraiser
Your donations go directly to the community! Through our Immediate Needs Facebook page, community members can request help with groceries, diapers, household items, help with heating or phone bills, etc. Often another community member can help directly. If we can, we help meet requests with this fund.
Just recently, we have:
- Delivered groceries to a family whose SNAP did not arrive due to the government shut-down
- Delivered menstrual items to a homebound single mom who had recently given birth
- Paid for phone minutes for a job seeker who needed to be able to apply for and get call-backs from potential employers
- Delivered groceries and OTC medicines to a family quarantined with the respiratory virus
And much more direct aid to our community
We also host the Food Sharing Cabinets. Many people are not aware that the level of food insecurity in Tompkins County is higher than the national average, and growing more severe with increasing prices and decreasing benefits. With the premise “Take what you need, leave what you can” the cabinets are a direct way to get food and household supplies to community members. Anonymous, unrestricted, and available 24/7, the cabinets offer a way for families to get what they need without waiting in line at a food pantry - the hours of which are often during work hours. No signing up, no stigma or embarrassment of having to ask for help. With more than 40 cabinets distributed throughout the county and beyond, purposefully located in high need areas, it is easy for people to access one, even on foot.
The majority of the donations to the Food Cabinets come from the hearts and pockets of community members. Many are hosted by community groups, churches, university departments, or groups of people that came together for this purpose. But the need is great and the cabinets are emptied quickly. With occasional grants and money donated by you, we supplement what others donate to the cabinets, so that there more often is food there for those that come by. We prioritize healthy yet easy to prepare items, including cereal, peanut butter and jelly, tuna, microwaveable dinners, juice, fruit and granola bars, etc.
Depending on the season and weather, we include fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy soup, or frozen vegetables and dinners. Other often requested items are toilet paper, toiletries, menstrual items, diapers and wipes – these items cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits.
Mutual Aid Tompkins is run entirely by volunteers, therefore with minimal administration costs. Therefore your donation goes directly to the community!
Organizer
Tompkins County Workers Center, Inc.
Beneficiary