Posts Tagged ‘poverty’

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Spirit of Generosity: Offering a Hand of Hope

brant lake food pantryEvery day,  there are local individuals and families working hard to make ends meet. With limited or low-income, they are often forced to make difficult decisions — unexpected expenses, such as fixing a vehicle to get to and from work, can mean deciding between paying for rent, food, or even medical care. Across the Adirondack region, grassroots organizations like North Country Ministry are stepping up to make these decisions a little easier.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, October 5, 2020

Gleaning Can Help Feed our Hungry Neighbors 

Hunger in America

According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, 37,227,000 Americans, of which 11,174,000 are children, are currently grappling with hunger. In other words, more than 11% of Americans are, at this moment, food insecure (lacking reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food). Among them are 13.1% of the people living in St. Lawrence County; 12.9% of those living in Franklin County; 11.9% of those in Clinton County; 10.3% of those in Essex County; and 10.1% of those in Hamilton County.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 4, 2019

40 Years of Poverty Rate Trends in Rural America

The third major economic indicator that was examined in The Adirondack Park and Rural America: Economic and Population Trends 1970-2010 was changes in the poverty rate. In 2010, a family of four with an annual income of $22,050 or less was considered to be living in poverty. The poverty rate of a region is a key indicator of overall economic health.

From 1970 to 2010, the overall poverty rate rose significantly in New York State from 8.0% to 14.9%. Across the U.S., the poverty rate rose from 10.4% to 14.9%. All Americans should be alarmed about the increase in poverty rates across the country in 2010 and about the state of a country where almost one out of every six people lives in poverty.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, May 15, 2019

ANCA Announces 2019 FarmShare Fund Recipients

local produce In an effort to address food insecurity in the North Country region the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) is awarding five grants as part of its 2019 FarmShare Fund Mini Grant Program. The initiative augments existing hunger relief and food security efforts in the region. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 2, 2019

EAT ADK Restaurant Week Runs Through May 9

The annual ADK Restaurant Week is kicking off this weekend at fine dining establishments offering prix-fixe menu with prices of $15, $20, and $30. The special 8-day event continues through May 9 with wonderful menu options to explore. I like the ease of ordering a three-course meal at a fixed price. It gives chefs room for creativity at an affordable price-point for the customers. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, December 21, 2017

Remember Food Pantries This Holiday Season

I am all about shopping local. I always look for a local version rather than shopping online. That doesn’t mean that the UPS truck hasn’t made regular stops at my house. It does mean that when my children ask me what I want, I always opt for an experience or an item from a downtown Adirondack shop.

We have found that gifts that add meaning can be as simple as donating food to a local food pantry. » Continue Reading.


Monday, June 27, 2016

Grants Awarded To Help Fight Local Poverty

poverty in local homesThe Glens Falls Foundation has announced that it has awarded $180,000 in grants to three community organizations for new efforts to fight intergenerational poverty in Warren, Washington, and northern Saratoga counties.

Nearly one in five children in Warren and Washington counties lives in poverty. Of even greater concern, 41 percent of the households that are led by women and where children are present in Washington County fall below the poverty line as do 36 percent of the households led by women with children in Warren County and 26 percent in Saratoga County.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, March 30, 2015

Rita LaBombard’s History of Giving (Conclusion)

P3 StMarysSignIn 1983, Rita Labombard began to address the needs of a New York City shelter for street youth that sometimes served 200 children on a single night. Routine items were needed—soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, socks, etc. These were collected by a Plattsburgh group and brought to Champlain, where Rita arranged for their delivery to New York City.

To fund the costs of trucking and overseas shipping, the center constantly sought help from donors and area carriers. In 1985, to help cover those expenses, the Mission Center added a thrift shop, offering second-hand toys, books, clothes, and household items. Those in need, including welfare recipients, were encouraged to visit. » Continue Reading.


Monday, March 23, 2015

Rita LaBombard: A History of Giving (Part 2)

P2 1967 HdlineMissCtrSt. Mary’s Mission Center in Champlain was named as the clearing center for Catholic charities in the entire Ogdensburg diocese. But it’s important to note that although manager Rita LaBombard was Catholic and worked closely with many Catholic charities, St. Mary’s was an independent, non-denominational entity from the start. Volunteers from several faiths had long been lending a hand.

Civic organizations also chipped in with materials and labor. Private citizens purchased materials, made clothing, and donated it all to the center. Children folded clothes, sewed buttons, and moved boxes. And always among the volunteers was Rita’s mother, Delia, nearly 80 and still washing, ironing, and mending clothes several hours a day. It seems Rita came by her work ethic honestly. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, November 15, 2014

Amy Godine On Black History in the Adirondacks

TMDA LogoBlack history in the Adirondacks has an anecdotal quality, maybe because the numbers of black Adirondackers have been so few. Here’s a story of a black homesteader who was good friends with John Brown. There’s a barn that may have sheltered fugitives on the Underground Railroad.  Outside Warrensburg is a place in the woods where a black hermit lived. And so on.

The temptation – and I should know; I’ve been a lead offender – is to make a sort of nosegay out of these scattered stories, pack them all into a story by its lonesome, a chunky little sidebar, and let this stand for the black experience.

It makes a good read, and it’s efficient. And it’s wrong. It reinforces the idea that the black experience in this region was something isolated, inessential. It ghettoizes black Adirondack history, and this wasn’t how it was. » Continue Reading.


Monday, September 22, 2014

Laurie Davis: 2014 Farm Bill Funding

adirondack harvest logoEvery 5 years the United States reviews and signs into law a new Farm Bill. We were due for a new bill starting in 2012, but it took until this past February for Congress to sort through what didn’t work in the past, add new things for the future, and generally agree enough on everything to have the President sign the bill into law.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a column about the intricacies of government legislation, but the Farm Bill is something we all should pay attention to because it largely governs our food systems. I’ve always thought that it should be called the “Farm and Food Bill” – then maybe we would take more of an interest. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Dr. King’s Struggle For Economic Justice Being Celebrated

dr martin luther king being attacked during a nonviolent march for the chicago freedom movement in 1966On Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 3 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Saranac Lake, the Tri-Lakes will celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and continue his fight for economic justice. The Saranac Lake Ecumenical Council, local clergy, and dreamers of Dr. King’s dream are sponsoring this event. Dr. King’s efforts to achieve economic justice for all will be celebrated through his words and the music of the Civil Rights Movement.

There will be an eyewitness testimony from a local resident who worked alongside Cesar Chavez; excerpts from the Dr. King’s writings will be read, and the singing of music from the movement. A free will donation will be accepted to support Samaritan House, the Saranac Lake Ecumenical Council’s Homeless Shelter initiative. Afterward, refreshments will be served in the Great Hall. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Foundations Partner to Provide Books to Pre-schoolers

Dolly PartonThe Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation has partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to bring free books monthly to preschoolers throughout the Adirondacks.

The Imagination Library program was established in 1995 in Parton’s hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee as a way to improve preschool literacy. It is now available to all preschool children in the state of Tennessee and is expanding throughout the United States. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

How Do We Make The Adirondacks More Relevant?

getting ready by the riverRecently, Pete Nelson opened a conversation on a social level many of us have been thinking about and working on a professional level.   This conversation about the challenges facing a park whose population of residents and visitors does not reflect the shifting demographics of our larger society is keenly felt in the conservation, education and resource management professions.  There is a famous quote, paraphrased, that says you will only commit yourself to what you know and love, and you will only come to know and love that which you feel is relevant to your life.

So the question Peter opened for conversation – and if you check out the comments on his January 11th post you will see he stimulated quite a conversation – is how do we make the Adirondacks more relevant in the lives of those who do not currently find it so.  » Continue Reading.


Saturday, January 18, 2014

Adirondack Diversity And The South Side of Chicago

Mom's House, 89th and MayLast week I began a series arguing that racial and socioeconomic diversity is the number one issue facing the Adirondacks.  My multi-part argument is sustained in part by overwhelming demographics that I will be presenting soon.  But there is a deeper moral and cultural dynamic to my argument far more important than statistics.  I need to get to it first or the rest of the argument will suffer a lack of meaning.  As always, I’ll try to accomplish that with a story. » Continue Reading.



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