Jul 24, 2026 — by
Catherine Wheeler (St. Lawrence Valley Reporter)
, in Potsdam, NY
Catherine WheelerPotsdam food drive bolsters local pantries amid growing demand<img src="https://todaytrendnews7.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/tables_wide_shot.gif" alt="All the food and hygiene products collected at June's event were distributed among 21 food pantries in St. Lawrence County. Photo: Catherine Wheeler”>All the food and hygiene products collected at June’s event were distributed among 21 food pantries in St. Lawrence County. Photo: Catherine Wheeler
Under a big white tent in the Potsdam Walmart parking lot, two dozen tables are piled with food and toiletries
Each looks like a miniature grocery store: cans of vegetables, instant noodles, jars of peanut butter, paper towels, and body wash
People drive up and drop off bags of food. Volunteers have their hands full, walking table to table sorting through the goods
“We’ve been accepting donations from members of the community to support 21 food pantries serving families across St. Lawrence County,” said Dawn Cole, the CEO of the United Way of Northern New York. “This is really going to be a big help to local pantries to help them prepare for what will be a peak season in July and August when the kids are out of school.”
The United Way has hosted events like this in Jefferson and Lewis Counties for years. This is the first one in St. Lawrence County
As the need for help has grown, the United Way decided to expand its reach, Cole said
“We know that the poverty rate is high here. Food insecurity is high. So it was important to us to spend more time in St. Lawrence County, talking with community partners, gathering, kind of rallying the troops, gathering support, building awareness, and hosting this initiative,” Cole said
Food insecurity levels in the US are rising. Right now, they’re higher than they were during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The data shows it’s particularly straining lower-educated and lower-income households and families with young children. One in six families are using food pantries to make ends meet
Food insecurity is rising across the US. Sixteen percent of families rely on food pantries to make ends meet. Photo: Catherine Wheeler
Rising need in St. Lawrence County
In St. Lawrence County, pantries are seeing the uptick.
“I’d say it’s doubled, especially for the soup kitchen. There’s a huge increase in the food pantry itself, also,” said Tammy Sauve, the executive director of Helping Hands, a non-profit based in Hannawa Falls
Sauve said she expects the need to increase even more in the coming months
Last year, President Donald Trump and Congress made sweeping cuts to the federal food assistance program SNAP. Those changes are now kicking in, including new work requirements to receive benefits
In the North Country, about 5-16% of people use SNAP. Thousands could lose their benefits
Pantries are just beginning to see the effects, Sauve said
“Our client service representative is starting to track people coming in that are saying they just lost their food stamp benefits,” she said. “I think some of it, the growth that we’re going to see in the near future, is going to be clients who have recently lost benefits that are coming in.”
That might mean new faces at the food pantry, who didn’t expect to be there, Sauve said. But pantries are here to help
“Everybody’s in the same boat right now with the prices of food and gas and everything. If you need food, just stop in. It’s private. We don’t share that information. You’re welcome to come,” she said
Workers from the United Way of Northern New York, Helping Hands and the Food Bank of Central New York. Photo: Catherine Wheeler
Help with transportation
At the collection event in Potsdam, the Food Bank of Central New York is here. Workers and volunteers will pack up all these donations and deliver them to each food pantry, Patty Waldner said
“They don’t have to pay for their own gas. They don’t have to provide any transportation. We’ll just take it to them.”
Getting supplies to food pantries from the Food Bank’s warehouse in Syracuse to St. Lawrence County can be a big challenge because of the distance. Waldner said it only happens a few times a month
“It’s our responsibility to remember that it’s not on them to come to us. It’s on us to go to them,” she said. “That’s the challenge to try and remember, ‘How do we get it to them?” We have the food. The food is available. It’s just a matter of getting the food to the people.”
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The United Way said this food drive is a good first step in St. Lawrence County. Officials said they want to build more local connections to make events like this one even more impactful for the food pantries as their need continues to increase
Related Topics
food insecurity ·
snap benefits ·
st. lawrence county ·
economy ·
food pantries
