CHOW distribution drastically increased in 2023: Binghamton donors help fill the gap

Riccardo Monico, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin
·4 min read

On a brisk Friday afternoon in early November, the sun beats down on the RV and the giant truck parked in the Weis parking lot on Upper Front Street in Binghamton. Shoppers come and go, stocking up on supplies for the weekend.

A gray-haired man in a green jacket walks over from his car with a can of food clutched in his hand, and heads straight for the RV. Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse director Les Aylesworth helps him add the can to the blue donation barrel and thanks him.

Every bit counts.The 2023 Food-A-Bago drive, a tradition for over 20 years, helped CHOW in its mission to fight hunger in Broome County, in a year when the nonprofit's distribution has drastically increased.

CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.
CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.

Where does CHOW Food-A-Bago donated food go?

When food drives like Food-A-Bago end, CHOW volunteers sort and organize the donations, which are then listed on the CHOW website for agencies to order.

Run through Broome County Council of Churches, CHOW provides supplies for over 110 local food pantries free of charge. Every agency CHOW provides food for must be a nonprofit and have food handling authorization. CHOW also conducts site visits to confirm that food will be handled safely and effectively for those in need.

While the Food-A-Bago drive's original set-up involved organizers living inside the RV until the number of donations stacked up inside made it impossible, nowadays the food is placed directly into a truck. The goal remains the same — ending hunger in Broome County.

The CHOW food drive is organized by Music for the Mission and local Townsquare Media radio channels.

CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.
CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.

How food needs are met in Broome County

CHOW, which has been around since 1967, is able to provide necessities to food pantries through the use of three collection methods.

Members of the community can donate items or money directly at food drives such as Food-A-Bago, or through CHOW's website. The other, and most high-yield method used by CHOW, is recovering food which is past its sell-by date, but not past its best-by date.

According to CHOW director Les Aylesworth, massive amounts of sealed food which is perfectly safe to eat is dumped into landfills every day.

"Food for people, not for landfills," said Aylesworth. "This year alone, we've already diverted 100 garbage trucks worth of food."

Aylesworth says that through the use of these three methods, CHOW can turn a single dollar donation into five meals for the community. This efficiency is especially important now, with record demand for CHOW's services.

CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.
CHOW's Food-A-Bago food drive was held at Weis on Upper Front Street in Binghamton.

Broome County food distribution increased in 2023

According to Aylesworth, CHOW distribution in 2023 is around 40% higher than in 2022 — and that is with two months left in the year. As of this month, CHOW has already distributed around 280 meals, which is the highest distribution level in its history.

While distribution has drastically increased, food drives have yielded less and less in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic due to a variety of factors, Aylesworth said. He attributed this year's increase in demand to a rise in inflation followed by the slashing of food stamp benefits earlier this year.

Due to this increase in need, CHOW has had to travel farther and rely more on recovered food, as well as monetary donations the organization uses to purchase food directly.

In the past, CHOW saw increased activity toward the end of the month, when people ran out of benefits and required aid from pantries. Aylesworth said the date for that normal increase in activity has changed in the past few years — sometimes even occurring as early as halfway through the month.

Though it is one of the more food insecure communities in the state, Aylesworth said the people of Broome County are second to none when it comes to helping provide for those in need.

"I'm just so grateful to the community and their generosity," he said. "We couldn't do it without them. We're just grateful that we have a generous community which participates and continues to support CHOW over the years. Without the good people of this community we couldn't do the good work we do."

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton, NY volunteers fight hunger, local need spikes in 2023