Volunteers Work To Help Sandy Creek Community With Free Food Give Away

By Michael Johnson

SANDY CREEK, NY – The fairgrounds are quiet this year, with the annual Oswego County Fair listed among the casualties of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Those who love the annual event and its traditions are already planning for next year, but the fairgrounds are being utilized in a new way, a way that brings people together and provides a helping hand to those in need in these uncertain times.

A shrinking economy, coupled with layoffs and plant shutdowns, have placed a financial strain on many Oswego County residents, but members of the community have stepped up to the challenge and volunteered to offer a helping hand to the people of Northern Oswego County.

A milk and food giveaway event, organized by Sandy Creek Central School and Pulaski Academy and Central School staff members, took place at the fairgrounds on Thursday, August 13 at noon.

Vehicles were lined up beyond the fairgrounds gate and onto Ellisburg Street as early as 10 a.m., forcing organizers to open the doors at 11 a.m. in an effort to reduce traffic congestion.

“The planned hours for this event are noon to 6 p.m., but we have opened the gate an hour early, and in the past we have given everything away by 3 p.m,” said Jessica Brown, a volunteer at the fairgrounds. “This is a great thing for the community, and people are very thankful for these supplies… Coming out and doing this makes me feel good for the community.”

Milk is perishable, so proper storage is an imperative on a warm summer day. A refrigerated tractor trailer truck, stationed conveniently along the drive-through line, was manned by Tim Comer, an employee of Renzi Foodservice of Watertown. Keeping the wheels of his pallet jack rolling, Tim resupplied various stations of the drive through with cooled crates of milk and boxes of foodstuffs.

“We have had two or three trucks leaving daily, serving food banks and events like this all over New York state,” Comer said.

Racking up the miles has been keeping him busy during this challenging time.

“I have been making trips to places like Malone, Binghamton and Buffalo,” Comer said as he rolled out another heavily laden pallet.

Two thousand gallons of milk and 1,000 boxes of food made their way into the hatches, trunks and pickup truck beds of waiting vehicles, as the line efficiently moved along and friendly greetings were exchanged between strangers and lifelong friends. Vehicles rolling down from the sparsely populated Tug Hill region and from the small villages nearby were occupied by thankful residents.

“I grew up here, and it makes me very proud to be here giving back to the community,” said Tracy Sullivan, cook manager at Sandy Creek Central School.

Tracy and Andy Ridgeway organized this event, the third of its kind this year.

“We try to feed everyone, not just the school children,” Sullivan said.

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