June 26, 2020

Jenny Sanchez:
Hi, I’m Jenny Sanchez, and this is “Sullivan 180 Presents… Take Five!” Our guest today is Audrey Garro from A Single Bite. Audrey, thank you for joining me. Could you please introduce yourself and share what you do at your respective organization?

Audrey Garro:
Thank you, Jenny. I appreciate Sullivan 180 inviting us to participate again! My name is Audrey Garro. I am the executive director of A Single Bite. We are a small not-for-profit located here in Sullivan County, New York, and our focus is to educate young people about ‘real food’, specifically to teach them the difference between ‘processed food’ and ‘real food’. Recently we’ve switched our focus with the COVID-19 crisis, to provide prepared meals for children and their families here in Sullivan.

Jenny Sanchez:
Could you talk a little bit more about that? What are some challenges? What are some positive experiences you’ve had with shifting your focus?

Audrey Garro:
Sure. With the closing of schools, we were unable to deliver our program, which is primarily presented in the classroom by volunteers. And so, as we became aware of some of the changes that were happening for families in the county: people losing employment, children not receiving the meals that they would get in schools in the same manner that they would. Although schools were sending home breakfast and lunch, which it kind of came to our attention that the entire family might not be receiving the same nutrition that they were, prior to this crisis happening. So our relationship with Foster Supply Hospitality, Kiersten and Sims Foster being the founders of A Single Bite, we kind of put our heads together and looked at the talents that were available to us, specifically the culinary talent. And we put together a team to start to work with the school districts and determine families that maybe at risk for food insecurity or real hunger and identify them, and then using some of the mechanisms that were put in place when schools closed, to actually deliver meals directly to people’s households. We were also able to, through this process of starting to prepare meals, to draw on the vendors, the farmers, the producers locally, who were also adversely affected by this crisis and to utilize their products. So then we were really put in a position where we were feeding our neighbors with our neighbors food, and that became really an extension of the core mission of A Single Bite.

Jenny Sanchez:
If community members wanted to help out or donate or volunteer, what could they do to aid your efforts?

Audrey Garro:
So there are a couple of ways that people in the community, small businesses, and individuals, families that might be actually doing okay right now, could help. And one is, obviously, to make a donation. We are a not-for-profit. We are a component fund at the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan. Very proud to be affiliated with that organization. So people can make a contribution, just need to go to our website, I think to learn a little bit more and to see the donation link, and that is Asinglebite.org. But the other thing that we found: relying on volunteers to help us to deliver these meals has become a necessity, as I said, with schools closing. So ‘Operation Feed’, which is an extension of the Rotary Clubs here in Sullivan County, has jumped in to help us to fill the gap at school buses were. We’re very proud to be able to work with them and are now serving meals to every school district in the County, with their help. So volunteers could also get in touch with Operation Feed or directly with A Single Bite. There are a couple of school districts where we’re delivering meals to people’s homes and we need volunteers to help us do that as well.
Jenny Sanchez:
Aside from your website, is there a phone number they can reach out to as well?

Audrey Garro:
You can reach us directly at (845) 482-1030. On the web, obviously at our website or contact me directly, Audrey at A Single Bite. And I’ll be looking forward to hearing more from the community. Maybe they’ve heard about us, maybe this is the first time, but, we’re certainly committed at least through the end of this school year to getting meals to people who are at risk for hunger or experiencing food insecurity in some way. And then once the school year starts, we’re actually looking at making the program evergreen, continuing it, in our best fashion.

Jenny Sanchez:
Thank you so much for being here and for letting us know what you are doing to help Sullivan County.

Audrey Garro:
Thank you, Jenny. Appreciate it.