How a Warren County nonprofit is bringing food to people’s doorsteps
By David Escobar
North Country Ministry’s food pantries in Warrensburg and Brant Lake serve as a lifeline for several hundred clients per week, but executive director Kayla Carlozzi said the effectiveness of these stationary sites can be limited.
In rural parts of the Adirondacks, low-income residents without reliable transportation or mobility issues cannot always reach traditional food pantries, leaving them without groceries and other essential supplies.
To alleviate travel burdens for their clients, North Country Ministry has begun operating a food pantry on wheels.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
“They need food, and our program is able to go, for the most part, right up to their doorstep,” Carlozzi said.
The nonprofit launched its “mobile mart” in October 2023, which consists of a fleet of vans delivering groceries and other essential household goods to clients across a 650-square-mile stretch of Warren County.
Addressing rural food insecurity
Andy Caruso, who has been volunteering with North Country Ministry for over three years, said many home deliveries take him through remote as well as rough roads around Warren County.
“We’re miles in between some houses in certain points,” Caruso said.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
The nonprofit’s team of volunteers covers a stretch of area from Minerva to Lake Luzerne, making around 35 home deliveries every other week. Caruso said some people living in the most remote areas of his delivery route have disabilities or lack transportation altogether.
Demand for North Country Ministry’s mobile mart has been growing, a trend that Carlozzi attributes to the rise in prices of groceries and other household necessities.
Inflation has been trending downward over the past several months, but food insecurity has remained a significant issue in rural communities. According to Feeding America, rural areas are disproportionately affected by hunger, often due to lack of transportation and underemployment.
To meet the growing demand for its mobile food pantry, Carlozzi said North Country Ministry divided coverage areas into three routes. She said this points to another significant issue for Warren County residents, particularly in more remote areas.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
“Here there’s a community store per town, maybe a gas station per town, and a supermarket per town if you’re lucky,” Carlozzi said. “If you don’t have transportation, you’re trying to figure out how to make those kinds of things work.”
Bridging the gap
According to state data, nearly a quarter of adults in Warren County say they are food insecure, a statistic that Carlozzi said is evident in her organization’s work.
“People that we serve primarily are the ones who are working … full-time jobs,” said Carlozzi. “They work at our gas stations, our dollar stores and all those places that just keep the town alive. They’re really the working poor that need the additional help.”
Jennifer Morehouse, who is in her late 40s, lives outside of Warrensburg and works in healthcare. She said she used to go to the ministry’s traditional pantry location, but because of her busy schedule, the mobile mart has allowed her to access the food of the pantry. The mobile mart also supplements grocery shopping for her three kids, which she said has alleviated some of her family’s financial stress.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
“Asking for help or admitting that you need help is not an easy thing for everyone to do,” Morehouse said. “I’ve never had a feeling that I’m being judged or looked down upon.”
Caruso said volunteering as a mobile mart delivery driver has given him a deeper understanding of the people served by North Country Ministry, while also providing rural clients with valuable human interaction.
“Sometimes we’ll spend 10, 15 minutes talking after folks got their groceries, or while they’re getting their groceries,” Caruso said. “I think that is almost as important as the food.”
Since the mobile food pantry is volunteer-run, Carlozzi said demand is beginning to outpace the ministry’s ability to enroll new clients, resulting in a waitlist. However, Carlozzi said she is hopeful the organization will extend its services into the most rural parts of Warren County.
This reporting is a collaboration of the Adirondack Explorer and North Country Public Radio, with funding from Report for America.
Leave a Reply