City of Cortland firefighters deliver boxes of fresh produce and dairy to residents at the Friendship House Apartment Complex on Thursday. (Photo provided by Kevin L. Smith of The Cortland Voice).
A couple years ago, the City of Cortland Fire Department was looking for ways to be more involved in the community.
They found a solution through food distribution, which led to them partnering with the Food Bank of Central New York.
The idea for food distribution stemmed from the slew of medical calls in terms of nourishment from various apartment complexes across the city.
City deputy fire chief Derek Reynolds and other local firefighters secured a delivery of boxes that had fresh produce and dairy. The first delivery took place in Feb. 2022, and it included over 300 boxes with each box containing fresh produce and dairy, Reynolds said.
“It was a great event,” Reynolds said, noting it put nearly $2,000 worth of food back into the community. “It was a huge number for us. We were pretty ecstatic about that.”
Since that first month of deliveries, the city fire department has been consistently delivering food to the Friendship House apartment complex on the third Thursday of every month.
With the Friendship House residents consisting of an older population, the city’s firefighters deliver the boxes right to their doors. Reynolds said between 80-100 boxes are delivered to the apartment complex every month.
Since the Friendship House and other apartment complexes have been involved in the delivery process, Reynolds said the city fire department noticed a decline in nourishment-related medical calls.
The apartment complex once relied on a local grocery store for its fresh produce and dairy. Once it closed, the residents were left with a smaller store and a gas station.
For Reynolds, it made the city firefighters’ monthly food deliveries even more valuable.
“For a short period of time, it seemed like a lot of those residents were stuck shopping between those two stores,” noting the lack of fresh produce and dairy at the locations. “When we have an opportunity to work with the Food Bank to put fresh produce and dairy and even frozen goods for those citizens overall, it’s a really good feeling to help the community.”
Reynolds noted there are months where the Friendship House doesn’t need all of the boxes. For example, he added, there were 10 boxes leftover from Thursday’s delivery.
The remaining boxes will go to the Cortland Youth Bureau for its annual Thanksgiving meal next week. In past months, the extra boxes have been donated to the city’s recreation center for an afternoon youth cooking class, Reynolds said.
“We have a great time (every month),” Reynolds said. “We’re able to interact with the community.”
