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Community Closet food pantry open at PMS
The Community Closet, an emergency food pantry located at Poughkeepsie Middle School, officially opened Tuesday with a ribbon cutting.
The pantry within the Parent Empowerment Center is run by the Community Schools department and stocked through community and corporate donations. The idea, Community Schools Executive Director Natasha Brown said, is to serve as a resource for “families in crisis” who may need a little help closing the gaps between other assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The goal, she said, is for the pantry to continue to grow to serve more than those emergency needs and to expand to a second location, likely at the second Parent Empowerment Center scheduled to open at Warring Elementary this spring.
In addition to items like soup, tuna, juice, peanut butter and tomato sauce, the Community Closet has diapers, baby food and hygiene products, and monthly donations of fresh produce from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, subsidized by Central Hudson Gas and Electric. Representatives of Central Hudson were present Tuesday for the grand opening.
“The Poughkeepsie Farm Project and the Parent Empowerment Center are making a difference in our community by the creation of this new food pantry. Central Hudson is pleased to be able to partner with these organizations to help strengthen our community and provide essential resources for area families,” said Jerry Nappi, director of public affairs at Central Hudson.
Stop and Shop is also making donations and Brown’s team is actively seeking additional grant funding to purchase food and products to keep shelves stocked. Donation boxes are located in each school building.
Any questions regarding the pantry can be directed to Parent Empowerment Center Manager Helen Purnell at hpurnell@poughkeepsieschools.org or 845-451-4900 ext. 1425.