Recent News

September Numbers and Looking Ahead

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force, Reports Tag , , , , , ,

September was a whirlwind of a month. Summer is gone and Autumn has arrived. We had 5 Wednesdays to serve meals. We served a total of 771 meals. During those meal services we served 92 people who had never received a free meal in a meal distribution line in Auburn before. That is a lot of new people because they are coming back each week. Our numbers are jumping higher and higher and as I speak to other coordinators of free meal distribution, they are saying the same thing.

It is hard to provide more food than we already are right now. We have ovens and stoves on backorder and have no idea when they might arrive. We are cooking with 18 qt crockpot cookers and commercial size rice cookers. It works but the process is labor intensive. We come in the night before for meal preparation to slice and dice and sometimes cook parts, or even, the complete meal. On the morning of the meal, we put everything together, cook or reheat, package, and deliver in thermal bags to the meal distribution site.

What is to come? Starting next week, we will be preparing the food for SS Peter & John’s on Tuesdays. We will provide the food. They will cook or reheat, package, and distribute at their location. This will be a great partnership as it will give their volunteers a little bit of a break because they will not have to provide, prepare, and cook a whole meal. Starting next week look for us to be showing SS Peter & John’s Tuesday meal on our social media because we will be providing the food.

One of the most important things is that the organizations who provide free food to people in the city work together. We help each other when one is lacking in a specific resource. One organization cannot do this alone. Communicating needs helps us to help each other. More of this to come. Food security depends on it. That means lives depend on it.

How We Get Our Recipes

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force, Recipes Tag , , , , , , ,

Food and dining with dignity is in our mission. We cook and prepare food for our patrons as if we were preparing the food for our own families, for our best friends, for our employers. We believe our patrons deserve the work, creativity and patience put into any other meal we would serve to anyone else. We refuse to put anything on a plate just because we have the ingredients. We look at our ingredients and then think about what we can add to make a dish special. Sometimes we look at the ingredients and say, “we refuse to make the same old dish, what can we make instead?” We also pay attention to the feedback our patrons give us on certain dishes. If there is great feedback on a certain dish, be prepared to see it again in the future. If there is a certain amount of negative feedback, we will scrap that recipe. The steps in creating a recipe or obtaining a recipe for a meal distribution contain a few steps including surveying ingredients, finding recipes, adjusting recipes, and finally, getting creative with recipes!

We must look at our ingredients on hand. As we look at the ingredients we have on hand, we get an idea of the types of meals we can serve for the week. We obtain these ingredients through donations, grants, low cost or free from the Food Bank, or purchasing from other vendors. We try to rotate proteins we use each week so that we do not serve the same protein too many times in a row. So far, we have been able to do this with success.

The second step is to think of a dish or find a recipe that contains those ingredients.  Sometimes a dish will easily pop into mind, other times one of us will do a Google search. I have found that the Google search, “Simple upscale recipe for large event” will do. I then find a recipe that contains the ingredients at hand and then go purchase the remaining ingredients. Yes, sometimes it is just that easy, but other times it is not.

Sometimes we must get creative with a recipe. We get a lot of donated produce. It’s healthy, fresh and tastes great. We will put it in sauces, meats, salads or whatever and wherever we can. We hate to see food get wasted, especially fresh produce. Sometimes the creativity is necessary to make a plain meal a more upscale meal. An example of this is going from chicken salad to curried chicken salad with grapes and walnuts or pecans.

The most fun part, note sarcasm, is converting a recipe intended to serve 4-8 to a recipe to serve 150-160. It is not just a matter of just doing some multiplication. It is also a matter of conversion. Teaspoons are converted to cups and cups are converted to quarts or gallons. Free internet tools are a wonderful thing, but this all still takes a lot of time.

When the Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc. dedicated itself to providing meals with dignity to patrons we dedicated ourselves to working hard for the patrons of the meal distributions. The patrons receive the same food we would serve to anyone else in our lives because they deserve it!

A New Model: Meal Distribution

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force, Reports Tag , , , , , , , , , ,

So much has happened since we have reopened the doors to the Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc and we want to let you know about it. First of all, we have to ease back into things, so right now, we are only serving on Wednesdays. We are looking forward to adding a day in the near future. We had our first service was on July 28th since closing our doors in the beginning of June. That meal service and through the month of August we were able to distribute 608 meals throughout the city of Auburn, NY.

Also, we have restructured so patrons do not have to come our kitchen. We deliver to several meal distribution drop points throughout the city. On Wednesdays we deliver and distribute meals at 11:30am in the community room at Brogan Manor located at 37 Olympia Ave. and at 12:00pm we deliver and distribute meals at the office in Melone Village located at 7 Merriman St. Patrons do not have to be a resident of the apartment complexes to come pick up one or more of our scrumptious homemade meals. As we add days to our schedule, we will be adding meal distribution locations to advance food security within the city limits of Auburn, NY. If your organization is interested in partnering with the Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc. to become a meal distribution site, fill out the contact us form on this site or email us at info@auburnhtf.org for more information.

We choose to use fresh, healthy and delicious ingredients in our meals. We believe that everyone deserves to dine with dignity and that means appetizing and enjoyable food for all. Look for us to start posting our mouthwatering recipes. Of course we will scale the recipe back down to serve 4-6 rather than the 160 we serve weekly now. Please check out our Instagram or Facebook page and follow us to see weekly pictures of our food and stay updated! Both are @Auburnhtf.

As always, to expand we need volunteers. The only way we make this happen is with the power of compassionate humans who care about food security and dignity for all people. If you would like to volunteer, fill out our contact us form or email at info@auburnhtf.org. Until next time!

5000

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force Tag , , ,

Tomorrow is a very special day. It is a milestone for our organization. Unless our numbers change drastically, we will serve our 5,000th meal! We could not have done this without the support from YOU! This community of people has surrounded us and lifted us up to ensure we succeeded in these tumultuous times. For this we thank you. Please take a moment and celebrate this amazing milestone with us.

OPEN

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force Tag , , , , ,
The kitchen is open!

We are located in Auburn, NY and are open on Mondays and Tuesdays from noon – 1pm to give out nutritious and delicious meals to the public. If you are in need of a meal come to the parking lot of the SK Post at 168 State St. Enter the parking lot on Seymour St. where the army tank is located. Meals are always free and anyone is welcome.

Due to COVID-19 there are many precautions. We are only serving meals packed to go at this time. We do not know when this will change.

We have been able to serve 4,353 meals to people so far this year. This number will only rise exponentially because we will be adding more programs to our organization. Be on the lookout for news about our upcoming program Soup Wheels!

As always we appreciate the support we have received from the community. It is because of your support that we are able to provide this service to the community. Food security is possible one meal at a time.

The First Six Months

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force

This week marked the end of our first six months as an operational soup kitchen, so we decided to take this opportunity to look back at our records and pause to appreciate the amazing work that our community has accomplished through this wonderful network. 

January 1 – June 30, 2020

34 The number of meal services provided by the Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc Soup Kitchen

7 The number of Dining with Dignity meals (meal services with special gourmet menus)

595 The number of hours our volunteers have donated of their time

2,774 The number of individual meals served to our community

Your checks, cash donations, and support of our fundraisers has ensured that the AHTF soup kitchen was able to provide a meal for every single family that came to us during our first six months – even during the sudden unemployment boom of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Just as the numbers of hungry families in need rose, so too did the AHTF bank account balance, as we began receiving unexpected donations from friends and neighbors intuiting correctly that our need was about to surge. 

We’ve also received surprise gifts of ingredients from local restaurants, crisp apples fresh from local orchards, fresh hydroponic lettuce, scrumptious baked goods, and beautiful farm fresh blue, green, and brown eggs. There were donations of unusual delicacies such as oyster mushrooms, quail eggs, and chevre goat cheese – all of which wonderfully complimented our Dining with Dignity Program, in which we strive to serve at least one meal per month of gourmet quality with rare and delicious ingredients. And one thoughtful donor regularly contributed something which is tremendously costly to our budget but crucial to every meal – clam-shell takeout containers. In this era of social distancing, our ability to serve the public is just as dependent upon being able to afford takeout containers as being able to purchase the food inside of them.

We are so thankful for this continued thoughtfulness from our supporters, and we share with you the gratitude expressed frequently by our guests. 

Your gifts and support have resulted directly in AHTF’s ability to;

  1. Increase meal serving sizes
  2. Improve nutritional content
  3. Improve flavor through higher quality ingredients, and
  4. Double the number of days that we’re able to serve meals

We’re so happy to do the cooking, if you’re happy to help support us. Thank you for a wonderful first six months! 

Warmly,
Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc Board of Directors 

Month End Update: March

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force

It has been a stressful month at Auburn Hunger Task Force.

But as always during difficult times, so many kind Helpers have emerged. The number of guests we serve spiked this month, with a total of 295 meals served during March. Comparatively, AHTF served 115 meals in January and 176 meals in February. 

But at a time when our community is expressing it’s biggest need for access to food, many generous local food providers have stepped forward to donate food and supplies. Thank you to Dunkin Donuts, Denny’s, KFC, Owen’s Orchards, an individual supporter of Silver Tree Forest Farm CSA, and a few very special community members. Their gifts of food and kitchen supplies have enabled us to increase our meal sizes to accommodate extra families in need.

Generous cash donations were also received this month from Westminster Church, Parker’s Express LLC, and St. Luke’s United Church of Christ. Cash donations help us prepare for future meals and more confidently extend our meal program reach when necessary.

Local entertainer Vin Gleason of Gift Entertainment contributed to the #AuburnStrong campaign by producing a series of video shorts and live music in order to raise public awareness about the Auburn Hunger Task Force. His efforts have greatly increased our membership levels on social media, and our community visibility. You can find his videos on Facebook, at “Auburn Hunger Task Force, Inc”

This month we received our Letter of Determination as a federally tax-exempt 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit through the IRS. This means that we will now be able to apply for foundation grants and community sponsorship from local and national retailers. This is a huge step forward towards our mission of ending hunger within Cayuga County!

Auburn Hunger Task Force is also now recognized as a Bronze-level organization on Guidestar, a national nonprofit database. After a short processing delay, you should soon be able to designate Auburn Hunger Task Force as your charity of choice at both Amazon Smile and Facebook Fundraising. More information will be available soon.

Our Treasurer recently gave notice that she would be unable to continue to serve as an officer and member of the board of directors. We thank her truly for her excellent record-keeping skills and assistance with the birth of the Auburn Hunger Task Force. Graciously, she has offered to continue to serve the community as a kitchen volunteer during meal services. Individuals interested in applying for the Treasurer vacancy may submit a cover letter and resume to AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com, subject line: TREASURER. 

COVID-19 UPDATE: Our Monday meal services are now following strict social distancing guidelines, with meals pre-bagged and available as carryout at the door. One guest indoors at a time, please. If you also require a monthly food box from Calvary Food Pantry, please call ahead to register: (315) 255 – 7772. 

Volunteers have been extensively sanitizing all surfaces and supplies within our kitchen, and are protecting ourselves, our families, and our guests by wearing face masks and gloves. Masks have been sewn and donated by Susan Marteney. 

Most free meal services within Auburn continue to remain open during the Coronavirus crisis, with the following amendments;

Holy Family Church has discontinued their Tuesday lunch program. Knights of Columbus (47 Market St, Auburn) will continue to serve their Tuesday dinner until April 30th. After April 30th, the Tuesday lunch will then be served by Auburn Hunger Task Force, located at Calvary Food Pantry (90 Franklin St., Auburn). 

How You Can Help:

Please make a cash donation. The number of families within our community who are struggling to find food during the COVID-19 crisis is exploding. Cash donations help us purchase food and carry-out supplies so we can gift families with nutritious meals + a few small extras in order to help guests stretch each meal as far possible. 

Paypal: donations may be made to: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/auburn-ny-soup-kitchen-needed-mondayfriday?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet 

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/auburnhtf

Checks: may be made payable to “Auburn Hunger Task Force” and can by mailed to:
AHTF
9 Baker Ave
Auburn, NY 13021

Thank you to all local businesses and community supporters who are committed to ending hunger within our community. Your assistance during the challenges of the past month has meant more than ever.

Month End Update: February

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force

Girl Scouts Troop #60157 with Troop leader Jamie Gleason hosted a chili drive in early February, raising enough ingredients to cover the entire meal for Monday, February 17th. We served hot chili with toasted cheese and garlic ciabatta rolls with apples, bananas, and baked goods. We had 35 guests for this meal. Thank you, Girl Scouts! 

The Patisserie Bakery in Skaneateles reached out to us with an offer to begin donating overstock baked goods for our Monday Meals. Our huge blueberry scones, molasses cookies, jumbo muffins, and more are now compliments of The Patisserie. Thank you, Patisserie! 

Our Patreon account is now ACTIVE! Supporters may now quickly + easily pledge a subscription donation each month at one of three levels;

SOUP Level ($5.55)

PASTA Level ($11)

BIG BURGER Level ($25.00)

Your donation allows us to better budget and meal-plan for our guests. To join as a Patreon supporter, please visit: www.patreon.com/auburnhtf.

We attended the 2020 Wellness Fair hosted by Gift Entertainment at the Equal Rights Heritage Center. Kimberly Patch gave a presentation about our community’s need for a Mon-Fri soup kitchen and explained our mission, our progress, and the steps we will be taking towards reaching our goals and becoming financially sustainable. We collected $50 in donations from our wonderful community members at the Wellness Fair! Thank you!


Our Certificate of Incorporation was accepted by the Department of New York State, making our 501(c)3 status official! We also have our EIN, and Federal Tax Exemption has been applied for, with documentation expected to arrive by mid-March. We are also now registered as a charitable non-profit with the New York State Attorney General, meaning we may begin large-scale fundraising campaigns as early as late March.  

Our Board of Directors and volunteers continue to serve hot, healthy to-go meals every Monday from 11-12:30 located at Calvary Food Pantry, 90 Franklin Street, Auburn. Thank you to Calvary for generously providing the space where we can prepare and distribute this meal. Monday meals have been attended by between 40-54 community members each week this month. We’ve seen an increase in attendance since January.

Our directors continue to research commercial locations within Auburn with the goal of purchasing and establishing a permanent location for our Monday-Friday soup kitchen. Our requirements are that the facility;

  • should be located within a high-need region of the city
  • be accessible via public transportation
  • is large enough to comfortably accommodate seating for 75-100 individuals
  • a commercial kitchen is preferred but not required
  • additional space for a food pantry, classroom, or other forms of program expansion are preferred. 

We’re currently in communication with real estate agencies and the City of Auburn, but we appreciate suggestions from the public. If you have a tip on a potential location, please email us at: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 

How You Can Help:

  • Save your plastic or reusable shopping bags. If you have bags to donate, please email us at: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 
  • Now accepting donations of packs of water bottles. We distribute 1 bottle of water with each meal. Your donation of a pack of water helps us stretch our food budget further. 
  • Do you know of a commercial building within Auburn that would be a great location for a Monday-Friday soup kitchen? Send your suggestions to AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 
  • Make a quick donation. Cash donations help us purchase food for the meals we serve. We accept Paypal. Donations may be sent to: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. Checks may be made payable to “Auburn Hunger Task Force” and can by mailed to:
    Auburn Hunger Task Force
    9 Baker Ave.
    Auburn, NY 13021

    Thank you for your interest in improving access to to food for our friends and neighbors within the city of Auburn.

Rotating Soup Kitchen Schedule

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force Tag , , , , ,

FREE MEALS are currently available at many different locations in Auburn, depending upon the day of the week. One of our goals at Auburn Hunger Task Force is to simplify this process by establishing a single soup kitchen where every meal will be served. Until that time, please use the following guide to find your daily meal:

MONDAY LUNCH: Go to Calvary Food Pantry at 90 Franklin Street from 11:00-12:30. We offer a bagged lunch to-go.

TUESDAY LUNCH: Go to Holy Family at 85 North Street from 10:00-11:00. We offer a bagged lunch to-go.

TUESDAY DINNER: Go to Knights of Columbus at 47 Market Street from 4:00-6:00pm. We offer a dine-in dinner. *NOTE: This location will only be open until April 30th.

WEDNESDAY LUNCH: Go to SS Peter & John’s Episcopal Church at 169 Genesee Street from 12:00-1:00. We offer a dine-in lunch.

THURSDAY LUNCH: Go to The Salvation Army at 18 East Genesee Street from 12:00-1:00. We offer a dine-in lunch.

FRIDAY LUNCH: Go to The Salvation Army at 18 East Genesee Street from 12:00-1:00. We offer a dine-in lunch.

SATURDAY LUNCH: Go to SS Peter & John’s Episcopal Church at 169 Genesee Street from 12:00-1:00. We offer a dine-in lunch.

SUNDAY DINNER: Go to The Salvation Army at 18 East Genesee Street from 3:30-4:30. We offer a dine-in dinner.

Month End Update: January

By in Auburn Hunger Task Force

Things are moving very quickly at the Auburn Hunger Task Force, and January was an incredibly busy month! 

We named our Board of Directors, composed By-laws, and submitted our Certificate of Incorporation to become a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Thank you to Westminster Church for donating $75 to cover that application fee!

Our Board of Directors and volunteers continue to serve hot, healthy to-go meals every Monday from 11-12:30 located at Calvary Food Pantry (90 Franklin Street, Auburn). Thank you to Calvary for generously providing the space where we can prepare and distribute this meal. Monday meals have been attended by between 30-40 community members each week.

Thank you as well to local artist, Anthony Pierce of Sign Guys / Wayward Studios, who designed the awesome new Auburn Hunger Task Force logo. The heart and cutlery design pays tribute to our mission of continuing the good work of feeding the hungry, begun by the former First Love soup kitchen. “First Love continues…” Pierce has also built and donated the 6’x3’ table banner you’ll see at all of our upcoming public events. You can check out his other design projects at: https://www.waywardstudiosny.com/. Give him a call if you have any signage or graphic design needs around Auburn, NY. He can be reached at: (315) 406 – 5514.

Our directors continue to research commercial locations within Auburn with the goal of purchasing and establishing a permanent location for a Monday-Friday soup kitchen. Our requirements are that the facility;

  • should reside within a high-need region of the city
  • is accessible via public transportation
  • is large enough to comfortably accommodate seating for 75-100 individuals

A commercial kitchen is preferred but not required, and additional space for a classroom or other forms of program expansion are also preferred. We’re currently in communication with real estate agencies and the City of Auburn, but we appreciate suggestions. If you have a tip on a great location, please email us at: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com.

The UNC (Ukrainian National Club) named the Hunger Task Force as the beneficiary of their annual Pierogi Eating Contest and Take-out dinner fundraiser, which raised $4,400. The UNC then MATCHED the amount raised, and contributed a grand total of $8,801! Thank you to all of the wonderful people at the UNC who organized this event and contributed their culinary skills!

Upcoming Events; 

Come visit us on Saturday, February 22nd from 10-2 at the 2020 Winter Wellness Fair at the Equal Rights Heritage Center, 25 South Street in Auburn. We’ll be tabling with information about local soup kitchens and food insecurity programs, with a presentation by Kimberly Patch at 1:30. Light refreshments will be available at our table, and admission to the event is FREE.

How You Can Help:

  • Save your plastic or reusable shopping bags. If you have bags to donate, please email us at: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 
  • Now accepting donations of packs of water bottles. We distribute 1 bottle of water with each meal. Your donation of a pack of water helps us stretch our food budget further. 
  • Do you know of a commercial building within Auburn that would be a great location for a Monday-Friday soup kitchen? Send your suggestions to AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. 
  • Make a quick donation. Cash donations help us purchase food for the meals we serve. We accept Paypal. Donations may be transferred to: AuburnHungerTaskForce@gmail.com. Checks may be made payable to “Auburn Hunger Task Force” and can by mailed to: AHTF, 9 Baker Ave., Auburn, NY 13021

Thank you for your continued support of the Auburn Hunger Task Force. 

Amanda Pelletier, Secretary