Facing “Deforestation”: The Plight of Ithaca’s “Jungle” Residents

It’s been a tumultuous few months for the residents of The Jungle, the makeshift outdoor homeless community that nearly a dozen Ithaca residents claim as a place to stay. Some of the people have lived there for several years, enduring frigid winters and enjoying the summers, and if you talk to one of the residents [...]

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Speaker discusses food insecurity, suggesting “solutions”

Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga, an organization which advocates for social justice, held its 2009 Annual Meeting & Volunteer Recognition  event this past Thursday. This year’s guest speaker, Cornell Professor Christine Olson, presented “Trapped in Food Insecurity: Why and What Can Be Done.” Olson defined food insecurity as a situation in which one’s ability to acquire [...]

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The Ithacan reports trouble in The Jungle

Today’s issue of The Ithacan featured a cover story on problems residents of The Jungle, a community of homeless people in the woods of Ithaca (behind Agway), may face if the city forces them to evacuate based on the premise of the land being private property. The story was covered really well.  It mentioned that [...]

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Meeting of the Philanthropic Minds

Today was the United Way-sponsored Stephen E. Warner Day of Caring, a day-long event that serves as a kick-off for the United Way of Tompkins County’s fundraising season, which spans from now until March 31. Now in its thirteenth year, the primary focus of the event was capping off a county-wide weeklong food and personal [...]

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Soulful Service: James Brown makes me feel good!

Today I met James Brown. Godfather of soul.  You know, the one who has influenced the world. Okay, not the entertainer, and not “soul” as in music, and maybe it’s several cities in the U.S. This James Brown has been the president of the United Way of Tompkins’ County for 12 years.  Born in St. [...]

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Helping the Poor Stay Healthy Doesn’t End at Hunger Relief

Even if they don’t fully grasp the gravity of the hunger situation in poor neighborhoods, most people are aware that food pantries provide a vital service. The same can’t be said about people’s understanding of the need for personal care products – those everyday essentials that we hardly even consider, like shampoo, body wash and [...]

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Red Cross Wine & Food Tasting Event Benefits Food & Shelter Services

The Tompkin’s County American Red Cross held their second annual Wine & Food Tasting benefit this past Friday at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Ithaca.  Above is a short clip of the event’s atmosphere.  The event presented attendees with wine and hard cider from 18 different wineries and hor’devours from eight local restaurants.  Tickets were [...]

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A Complete History of Food Pantries in Tompkins County, (Very) Abridged

When I first sat down to talk with Joan Barber, lifelong Danby resident and coordinator of the Danby Food Pantry and Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard, I didn’t realize that I was chatting with one of the pioneers of food distribution in Tompkins County. 40 years ago, in 1969, Joan and a small group of others recognized [...]

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It’s a Big, Bad World Out There…

It’s a big, bad world out there, especially in the past year, when global economic turmoil has affected almost every facet of human life. No one knows these hardships better than those living below poverty levels, a situation that far too many people are forced to deal with on a daily basis. As Americans, we [...]

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