NYS Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy today  announced the piloting of two food locker systems for the Food Bank of Central New York (FBCNY) in Hastings, Oswego County, and Truxton, Cortland County. The food lockers will expand the reach of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to people living in remote areas of New York State who are underserved by the program. The two sets of food lockers are expected to provide 175 low-income households.

 

The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) administers and serves as the distributing agency for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s TEFAP program. TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of people with low income by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost.

 

OGS’s USDA Food Distribution group designed and installed the two food lockers, which feature self-service pantry kiosks and mobile technology. The lockers were funded by a USDA Reach and Resiliency grant that OGS administered for FBCNY.

 

Each locker has a remote temperature control system to ensure food is stored safely. Upon being notified by FBCNY, eligible individuals can pick up food items through a contactless system at their own convenience. The lockers provide a more flexible way to access food, especially outside traditional food pantries’ hours or locations. Rollout of the food lockers began this fall, with a select number of households identified by FBCNY. The lockers in Hastings can accommodate 100 households, and the ones in Truxton can serve 75 households monthly.

 

New York State Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy said, “For the first time in New York State, food lockers are being used to store foods at temperatures that keep them safe to eat, giving people the freedom to pick them up on their own schedule. The Office of General Services is proud to work with the Food Bank of Central New York and the United States Department of Agriculture to install and roll out these food locker systems to benefit New Yorkers in Oswego and Cortland counties. Piloting these food lockers is a prime example of the innovative steps OGS is taking around food distribution under Governor Hochul’s leadership in collaboration with the USDA and the eight regional food banks serving all of New York State. Together, we are rethinking how and where we are distributing food so that we can help busy New Yorkers and their families meet their nutritional needs with ease.”

Town of Hastings Supervisor Tony Bush said, “The Town of Hastings would sure like to thank the Food Bank for this opportunity to help those that are in need. I know it is currently being utilized with great success. We are so grateful to have something like this in our community to help those in need.”

This initiative is part of OGS’s USDA Food Distribution group’s work in administering $2.7 million in Reach and Resiliency grant funds to regional food banks that serve the entire state. Collectively, they are establishing and increasing the use of mobile and pop-up food pantries; facilitating custom ordering to increase the delivery of culturally relevant — including Halal and Kosher — foods; purchasing a refrigerated truck and hiring more drivers to transport TEFAP food; expanding the use of a commercial cooler and purchase refrigerators, freezers, and shelves to store more TEFAP food safely; and creating and fortifying relationships in underserved communities.

 

In 2021, OGS helped food banks distribute more than 90 million pounds of USDA foods through its network of more than 2,700 organizations, which faced increased demands for food during the COVID-19 pandemic.