Letter from John A. Rudy

Don’t Forget the Food Pantries

Your editorial (“How Would You Allocate Your Taxes?”, “The Freeman’s Journal,” August 14, A-4) lists a number of categories of monetary donations made by residents of Otsego County: animals, the arts, educational institutions, museums. I suggest an additional category for inclusion, namely, charitable and religious organizations that provide food aid to those in need in Otsego County.

One such organization is the Cooperstown Food Pantry. It serves individuals and families throughout the county with a portion of their monthly food needs. The food pantry is one of those organizations which, as you noted, is supported by volunteers from the community who donate their “time, treasure and talent.” It also has depended upon its ability to obtain surplus food from the U.S. government at discounted prices, as well as upon monetary donations from charitable foundations and individuals.

With the draconian cuts to government food programs recently implemented by the federal administration, the Cooperstown Food Pantry is all the more dependent upon monetary donations to fund its food purchases. No doubt other charitable and religious organizations with a similar mission to feed the hungry in Otsego County are experiencing similar funding challenges.

It would behoove those of us who can, therefore, to add a category for our monetary donations specifically designated to help the Cooperstown Food Pantry and such other organizations in Otsego County obtain the financial means necessary to continue providing an adequate level of food assistance to our hungry neighbors.

John A. Rudy
Cooperstown