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Glens Falls community comes out to support food drive benefiting veterans

Post-Star - 5/24/2020

May 24--QUEENSBURY -- More than 100 members of the greater Glens Falls community lined the parking lot of Aviation Mall on Saturday to contribute items to a food and supply drive supporting local veterans ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

The contactless food drive was hosted by the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition, a nonprofit organization serving homeless veterans in the Capital Region and North Country.

The event was supported by Aviation Mall, the Adriondack Regional Chamber of Commerce and the departments of veteran services of Washington and Warren counties.

"All of these partnerships are just priceless for our veterans," Michelle Straight, the director of community relations for V&CHC, said.

There are an estimated 600 homeless veterans living in the Capital Region, Straight said.

Items collected Saturday will be distributed at V&CHC's veterans-only food pantry in Ballston Spa, which serves over 250 veterans.

Around two dozen volunteers donned masks and collected toilet paper, canned foods and laundry detergent out of the the back seats and trunks of automobiles.

Straight estimated around 2 tons of items were donated by 120 vehicles during the two-hour food drive.

"This was a complete success," she said smiling.

For village of Lake George resident DeeDee Diccicco-Craft, who donated several grocery bags of canned goods, the community's showing is an example of why she loves living in such a close-knit community.

"That's what I love about living here," she said. "It's an amazing community; people always come together."

Saturday marked V&CHC's second food drive in the Capital Region. A similar event was held at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland earlier this month, and drives are being planned for Schoharie and Schenectady counties in the coming weeks.

"Right now the mall is closed, so it's our opportunity to let our community members come in and utilize our space," James Griffith, the general manager of Aviation Mall, said of the event's origins.

Griffith said the mall plans to partner with V&CHC and other organizations serving veterans in the future.

"This will be a launching point for us to do more of these events with veterans in the community," he said.

The support is welcome for veterans like Ken Winchell, who enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after 9/11 and retired in 2013.

"When you see a community come together like that, especially over a vast area like the Capital Region, it speaks volumes," said Winchell, who serves as the director of Veterans Services for Washington County.

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