How a southern Adirondack small town is addressing food insecurity

In the town of Wells, accessible food programs support generations of residents, from the school bus to the senior center

By Arietta Hallock

The rural economy of the southern Adirondacks can make food access a challenge, especially for its aging population and working families. In the town of Wells, community advocates have built a support system to provide food options for its oldest and youngest residents.

School support extends into summer

At Wells Central School District, Sharon Parslow, Jessica Damphier and colleagues have charted new ways to ensure no student goes hungry.

Five years ago, the school counselor and secretary duo helped launch their BackPack Program with the help of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. This summer, they plan to extend the program beyond the school year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

By fundraising at least $2,750 every school year, Damphier and Parslow are able to send 15 students home with a discrete book bag full of free food on weekends from October to June. This summer, they plan to hand-deliver a month’s worth of groceries to local families at a time, all while honoring the backpack program’s privacy mission.

“We’re going to use our personal vehicles, drop the food off, and we’re not even going to knock.” Damphier said.

Summer support for struggling families is especially crucial in rural communities like Wells. The school offers universal free breakfasts and lunches during the academic year through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), an option for low-income areas through the New York State Department of Education.

The BackPack program provides additional aid through the weekend for select students, but these supports used to disappear during summer months. During that time, Parslow and Damphier said students need it most.

“Kids aren’t eating nutritionally, especially in the summer, because parents are off working and they can’t afford daycare.” Damphier said. “So hopefully what we give are easy-to-make meals. I want kids to be able to get their own food together.”

Damphier says she helped build these free food offerings because, regardless of income, families face unique economic challenges in the rural Adirondacks, where food access remains an issue.

“You pay 10 or 15 dollars to get to the grocery store, so that’s 15 dollars less in your grocery budget.” Damphier said. For some of her students’ families, those added expenses can make or break their ability to put food on the table.

Parslow stores food donations in a pantry inside her counselor’s office, and due to donations, she began filling empty lockers, too. Local businesses and residents have contributed everything from farm-fresh produce to Valentine’s Day cards, and Stewart’s Shops provides bi-weekly vouchers for milk and eggs.

“The community steps up. This is a very generous community.” Parslow said. She hopes this summer will set a precedent for years to come and their support network will spread.

“We have plenty of funds. Sometimes we wish we could get even more families receptive to saying that they’ll take it,” Parslow said, “We’re all trying to help.”

Meals for the elderly

At the Wells Senior Nutrition Site, a group of elderly residents gather on weekdays for lunch and conversation at long, communal tables. These lunchtime gatherers, which meal site manager Kelly Brennan calls her congregate group, are part of a larger program based in Wells that works to feed Hamilton County’s aging population.

“They love coming to congregate to visit. They have birthday parties here, they have their senior meetings here right after lunch,” Brennan said.

Brennan and her coworkers spend their mornings cooking, then deliver meals to another site in Lake Pleasant and homes throughout the Adirondack park’s least populated county. The program helps rural residents with health or mobility issues remain independent by providing meals without the burden of cooking or traveling for groceries. The price to eat is only a three-dollar daily donation.

Brennan, who has been with the program since its inception in 1994, said the most rewarding part of her job has been seeing and supporting the oldest members of her community.

“We really have a great bunch of people who keep track of each other,” She said.

Beyond offering home-cooked, nutritious meals, Brennan gives her seniors an added layer of community support. She answers their questions about technology and always calls when a familiar face is missing from the table.

“Somebody’s here for them in case they need anything.”