by Jessyca Cardinell
A Drive-Thru Food Pantry has opened at 71 Smith Street, Gouverneur, operated by the Gouverneur-Richville Christian Fellowship Church, to help those in the Gouverneur-area who are in need of groceries. The distributions will be held on the second Thursday of the month from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the fourth Saturday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m.
“Our food pantry just did our first food distribution just last month,” said April Sochia, a member of the church. “We started by delivering boxes to Cambray Terrace and Courts on May 27.” On June 11, the first drive-thru food distribution was held at the church’s 71 Smith Street location.
The church felt, as a whole, that there was a burden to reach those in the community who are in need of food.
“Bob Dale was instrumental in getting the ball rolling before I jumped on board,” Mrs. Sochia said. “I am running the food pantry with the support of my church and family. One night at dinner we were talking with our children about the undertaking of running a food pantry and they all had such a vision for helping others. It was inspiring!” said Mrs. Sochia, who stated her children have been with her during this journey as there are truck deliveries as well as setting up and organizing the building.
“When our church merged back together in Richville that left our Gouverneur building vacant. We have been waiting for an opportunity to use that building to reach needs in the community. Having a food pantry is an awesome way to do that,” said Mrs. Sochia
The quality food is being ordered from the Food Bank of Central New York, so families are sure to be sent away with a variety of nutritious food.
When it comes to the community support, Mrs. Sochia stated the response has been great.
“This community has been incredibly supportive! We have had refrigerators and freezers donated to us, as well as monetary donations. When we were receiving our first food truck delivery, Wayne Scott from Reliable Towing stopped and offered to help us get food right to our building. That has been a tremendous blessing. We are so grateful for the support from the community. You can find us on Facebook at GCF Compassion Outreach,” said Mrs. Sochia for those interested in more details and updates.
As well as support from the community, the food pantry has also received support from larger retailers including Potsdam Lowes, who donated a brand new refrigerator.
“That was a tremendous blessing. A friend of a friend is friends with the manager at Lowes and had asked if they could help us out to get a refrigerator. We were hoping for a discount, but he said that they would be happy to donate one to us! We have had three of our refrigerators donated to us,” said Mrs. Sochia with great excitement.
Be sure to follow the food pantry Facebook page and keep up with all the wonderful things the food pantry is sure to bring to the community. Fantastic job Gouverneur-Richville Christian Fellowship on your fantastic contribution to your community!
Donations are always accepted at P.O. Box 126, Richville, NY 13681. Questions can be sent to gcfcompassion@gmail.com and (315) 355-7506.