Ballet at the Cooperstown Food Pantry: The Food Delivery

By MAUREEN MURRAY
COOPERSTOWN

Beep, beep, beep,” one of the delivery trucks sounds as it slowly backs down the narrow driveway at the Cooperstown Food Pantry Inc., on the Cooperstown Presbyterian Church property.

Earlier that morning, a large tractor trailer truck left the Regional Food Bank of North East New York, located in Latham, laden with the needed food and supplies for Cooperstown and other smaller food pantries in Hartwick and Richfield Springs.

Bruce Hall Corp. provides a 10,000-pound capacity truck and driver every month to meet a team of CFP volunteers at the Regional Food Bank’s local delivery drop site in the Grand Union parking lot in Hyde Park. Often, the load exceeds 9,000 pounds and helping hands move any additional weight onto another pickup truck provided by The Clark Foundation. Then the Regional Food Bank driver heads to his next drop, and back to Latham.

Back at the CFP driveway, 20 or more volunteers who call themselves “The Mules” stand ready to unload. “The Mules” have been summoned by e-mail for their monthly workout. They are young and old, often retired, many taking time out from work or school, and are people you’d like to know. They have set up two long tables—one at the back of the truck, another on the porch—and several roller conveyors on sawhorses.