By Jared Castañeda
Newburgh residents passing through the intersection of Hasbrouck and William Street last Saturday, December 21 were greeted with hot food and hospitality from several volunteers during their first Feeding With a Purpose, a distribution event that provided aid to a neglected portion of the city.
This distribution was made possible thanks to several volunteers and organizations working together, including Self-Care JS, a Maybrook nonprofit that helps residents with mental health and substance use disorders, and Life Flows Through Every Body, a Beacon foundation that raises awareness for sickle cell anemia, and Jacked Juice Catering, a catering service based in Montgomery. The group used a $5,000 check from the Do it Best Foundation to cover the cost of Saturday’s refreshments and will divide the remaining funds to Make-A-Wish Foundation and Self-Care JS’s workshops in Maybrook.
The volunteers chose to set up the distribution at Habrouck and William Street as they felt this part of the city was overlooked and especially suffered from substance abuse.
“We’re trying to reach the most vulnerable part of the community,” said Jemika Hall, the founder of Marc’s Friends Inc., a support group that helps mothers and caregivers grieve through violence and loss. “It’s not easy to identify a need, but when you have a passion and connect with people, that’s how missions are accomplished.”
“We’re out here feeding people and spreading the word for harm reduction and contraception,” said Jamai Leigh, the founder of Life Flows Through Every Body. “There’s not a lot of services out here, so we’re out here helping them out. As Janell said, we’re in ‘the trenches.’”
Starting at noon, the group handed out dozens of soups, sandwiches, hot beverages, and safety items like Narcan, testing strips, condoms, and lubricant. Within the first couple of hours, passersby depleted most of the group’s food and drinks, greatly enjoying the warm refreshments in the frigid weather. Omari Shakur, a City of Newburgh councilman also visited the volunteers and extended his appreciation to them for feeding his community.
“It’s going very well so far, we brought 100 soups and 35 sandwiches, and we have 36 soups and two sandwiches left. It’s only one o’clock,” said Janell Santana-Sims, founder of Self-Care JS. “Most organizations don’t come out to this block because there’s high drug trafficking and overdoses; that’s why we’re also providing test strips.”
Overall, both residents and volunteers were pleased with the distribution, and the latter looks forward to supporting the community through future efforts. The group will also host another distribution in Poughkeepsie next month, providing similar resources to Ulster residents.
“The holidays are coming up right now and people need to come out, see each other, and support each other because we all are going through it,” Shakur said. “So let’s go through it together.”
