Saturday’s food distribution wildly successful

by Dan McClelland

Saturday’s huge food distribution event that was organized by Trustee Ron LaScala was wildly successful. So successful, in fact, that all the milk products and produce were gone less than two hours into the three-hour event.

The food giveaway was staged in the municipal park, with village officials and other volunteers helping their friend Ron.

The trustee said later Saturday that everything had been distributed in an hour and 50 minutes. The original plan was for the distribution to go from 9a.m. to noon- had the supply lasted. So excited by the prospects of the food giveaway, there were cars lined up in the park by 7:30a.m. that morning.

This food distribution event to help people down on their luck during this pandemic was part of a second round in Franklin County and Mr. LaScala hopes to do it again as part of a third round of giveaways in the county.

Other previous events have been done in Malone and Saranac Lake. Several weeks ago the trustee figured the people of Tupper Lake are just as deserving of the free food and wanted an event here.

So he went to work planning it, getting help from Assemblyman Billy Jones and others.

At the heart of the program is the Malone-based food processing company, Glazier Food Packing, which received a $2.6 million federal grant as part of the U.S.D.A.'s farm assistance program to distribute free milk, dairy products and produce, raised locally. Not only do the giveaways help people stretch their weekly food dollars, it also helps county and North Country farmers sell their products.

Also helping Mr. LaScala, in addition to Assemblyman Billy Jones was Malone Mayor Andrea Dumas.

A huge allotment of goods was distributed Saturday including 1,050 gallons of milk, 400 boxes of produce featuring potatoes, carrots and other vegetables and 400 boxes of dairy products including yogurt, sour cream, string cheese and more milk.