Hamilton County program gives families fresh food options
By Chloe Bennett
Healthy food access to 30 Adirondack families was made easier last month with the start of Hamilton County Food Connections. The program gives cards and paper vouchers to families to use at several grocery stores and all four farmers markets in the county.
As of last month, around 100 people in the county benefit from the program. Supplying these shoppers with prepaid cards and cash-like vouchers was critical to the initiative’s partners, which include AdkAction, Blue Mountain Center and Hamilton County Public Health.
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“We know that in more rural areas of the park, people are proud, nobody wants to be seen as needing services that are for folks who are below poverty,” Sawyer Bailey, executive director of AdkAction, said. “So we wanted that to really be a strong element of the program.”
The team started their new initiative with mothers enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) who are limited to what they can buy in stores. Those families now have $100 loaded on their cards every month and receive summer farmers market vouchers worth the same amount.
A lack of childcare and transportation access has impacted many families’ incomes, Margie Rajca, family health coordinator for Hamilton County Public Health, said. Buying groceries sometimes involves drives far out of the county. Having more money put toward healthy foods could mean families spend more on other necessities.
“Some of them have three or four kids and they want to just be a mom and enjoy life, and it’s hard for them to be able to make ends meet,” Rajca said.
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The project is an expansion of Hamilton Helps, a community effort that started in 2020 to give people food, supplies and information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Bailey said the food program is different from others because of its existing tie to the community.
“In Hamilton County, we’ve just seen a lot of programs kind of helicoptered in and they’re not built for the area, so they don’t really tend to see a lot of use,” she said. “And I think that’s how people get worn out from wanting to participate, wanting to take a chance.”
Countywide, just under 10% of people live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The program also follows guidelines from the international nonprofit United Way that identifies people just above the poverty line who are unable to buy basic necessities. The number of people who need financial help is disproportionate to the sparse population, Bailey said. That’s why the collaboration is targeting some of the families who need help the most.
“This program definitely helps and benefits them on giving them the extra little bit each month to put a smile on their kids’ face,” Rajca said.
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Participating grocery stores include Adirondack One Stop in Indian Lake, Kalil’s Grocery in Inlet, Charlie John’s in Speculator and the ADK Trading Post in Long Lake.
Buying from the farmer’s markets are very costly and would not make your food dollar go too far.