CiTi Teams Up With Local Organizations To Help Families In Need

MEXICO, NY – Recently, the Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation collaborated with the American Dairy Association, Liverpool Turkey Trot and the Food Bank of Central New York to help those in need throughout Oswego County.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of food shortages was a large concern. After receiving assistance from the Federal Government Farmers to Family Food Box Program, organizations such as the American Dairy Association and the Food Bank of Central New York began to distribute food boxes across the Central New York region.

At the same time, members of the CiTi staff led by Counselor Scott Henry, Senior Typist Kim McPherson and Business Education Liaison Garrette Weiss possessed a strong desire to make sure families had access to essential resources. This is when Cathy Hobb, Director of Marketing & Insights for the American Dairy Association reached out to CiTi. As a result, a partnership was created between CiTi, the ADA, Liverpool Turkey Trot and the Food Bank of CNY to ensure that all families had an opportunity to receive nutritious foods during such a challenging time.

“It all starts with collaboration. It doesn’t happen through one organization. This was brought together through a relationship with the American Dairy Association, Liverpool Turkey Trot, the Food bank of CNY and CiTi,” Henry said. “Food is a basic need, and when families can receive food, you’re allowing them to go out and tackle their other higher-level responsibilities.”

As a collective team, more than 1,200 nutritious food boxes were provided to families throughout Oswego County. This involved donations to in-house programs at CiTi including Exceptional Education, Alternative Education, Career and Technical Education, Oswego County P-TECH, and STRIVE. The team also helped coordinate food box distribution to outside agencies such as the Boys and Girls Club of Syracuse, Onondaga Nations, ACR Health and the Q-Center for LGBTQ youth and families.

“Each organization leveraged their unique skills to provide an innovative solution to the situation at hand,” Weiss said. “This has supplemented a strong access to nutritious foods that run the gamut from fruits and vegetables to meat and dairy.”

CiTi’s commitment to open eligibility made certain that anyone and everyone in need, regardless of status, income or household size, had access to nutritious food. Ultimately, the partnership between CiTi, the ADA, Liverpool Turkey Trot and the Food Bank of CNY allowed them to achieve the goal of bolstering the community supply chain for deserving families.

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