P-Tech Students Help Rockland Food Pantries Reach Out

PIERMONT, NY — Students at Rockland BOCES Hudson Valley P-TECH redesigned the website for Rockland Community Against Hunger, a vital resource for information on food pantries and meal programs and other resources for people with food insecurities.

RCAH officials said they were proud to launch the new website with its new functions that allow people to search by name, town, zip code, or even day of the week to find a local pantry. It also provides easy-to-find information to people interested in finding meal programs, or wishing to donate, find volunteer opportunities, or look for other nutrition-related resources.

The new website was developed by a group of high-school students at Hudson Valley P-TECH.

Anita Dreichler, coordinator for RCAH, went to P-TECH with the objective of modernizing the old website. Developed 10 years ago, it really showed its age when the coronavirus hit and everything shut down.

"It was outdated and crowded with information making it difficult to use," Dreichler said. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been getting more than 600 hits per week on the website, mostly to search for local pantries."

RCAH is a collaboration of food pantries and meal programs and county agencies working together to ensure that no one in Rockland County goes hungry. RCAH is led by TOUCH, BRIDGES, Meals on Wheels, Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center, and the Rockland Department of Health. The collaborative effort includes more than 40 food pantries and meal programs in the county.

Since 2011, RCAH has provided millions of pounds of food to all Rockland food pantries and meal programs while improving knowledge, networking among the pantries and creating a true “community” for addressing hunger.

"Many people going to food pantries either walk or rely on public transportation," Dreichler said. "Therefore, it is critical that information about food pantries and other nutrition-related resources in their neighborhood be easy to locate."

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.