Rosemary Jones places a food item on a shelf at Feed Our Vets.
‘For everything they’ve sacrificed, it’s the least I can do’
UTICA — Thanks to the efforts of our Central New York DDSO Local, area veterans will have a little more food security.
Central New York DDSO Local 6th Vice President Paul Jones, his wife, Local 7th Vice President Rosemary Jones and other local members recently donated $500 and 120 lbs. of food to the Feed Our Vets food pantry in Utica.
The Joneses have volunteered there for about six years, and they remember a time when the pantry lacked freezers or refrigerators.
“There was a little boy, probably 5 or 6 years old,” Paul Jones said. “We gave him a box of cereal and he looked up so innocently — and I have seven grandkids, so it broke my heart — and [the little boy]said, ‘Mommy, we don’t have any milk,’ and it brought tears to my eye. I left the pantry and bought some milk and gave it to them.”
A dire need
Richard Synek, founder and executive director of Feed Our Vets, said the nonprofit started almost 11 years ago with one stamp and a World War II veteran.
Synek used to work as a postmaster in Vernon Center. Every couple of weeks, that World War II veteran would come in and ask Synek for a single stamp because that was all he could afford.
“This went on for maybe a couple of months,” said Synek, a second-generation combat veteran. “Out of the blue one day, I said, ‘Well at least you have food in the house,’ and he didn’t answer me. I came to find out after World War II, he came back to work on farms in Central New York and was just a hardworking poor man, him and his wife.”
Synek also found out that the veteran, an 8th grade graduate, and his wife often had to make the decision between heating their small trailer or eating.
Synek started bringing the man a box of food every month. He asked the man if there were other veterans he knew who needed help.
That answer was a resounding yes.
“So, fast-forward to February 2009, and that’s when we became a nonprofit,” Synek said. “We had to, because my wife and I had pallets of food in our garage and I was making too many deliveries. It just grew too much, too fast.”
In just over 10 years, Synek’s pantry has fed more than 22,000 veterans — and that’s just who signs in. When one includes the veterans’ spouses and children, the total climbs to more than 54,000.
The pantry has also given out just over 1.5 million pounds of free food, and just over $130,000 in gift cards to grocery stores.
‘It’s the least I can do’
Our Central New York DDSO Local used money collected at a local clambake to donate to Feed Our Vets. The local has supported the pantry for many years.
“I’ve gotten to personally know eight or 10 veterans here who know me by name, and I know them by name, and it’s a pretty cool feeling to know that you’re doing something that they appreciate,” Paul Jones said. “I’m not a veteran, and I wish I was. It’s something I wish I could go back and redo. But, this is my way of giving back. It makes me proud of what I’m doing. For everything they’ve sacrificed, it’s the least I can do.”
Paul Jones is fortunate enough to share the experience with the individuals he works with through OPWDD. He takes some of the individuals in his care to the pantry twice a week to help clean, stock the shelves and organize donated food.
“It’s a win-win. It’s great for our individuals, and it’s great for (Feed Our Vets),” Paul Jones said. “It was just something my supervisor was wholeheartedly supportive of … she used to come down here with her mother when I first started with the program before she was my boss.”
The pantry also has a location in Watertown, a mobile unit in Syracuse and will soon open a location in the Town of Ohio. They plan on expanding further, but need money to do so.
“We’ve received no federal funding,” Synek said. “It’s all done on generous donations [such as from]CSEA members, which I truly appreciate everything Paul Jones and his team do. Every little bit helps. It’s 120 pounds of food [that they]donated is awesome. We’re happy with [people donating]one can.”
— Nicholas Newcomb
Top photo: From left, Pantry Director Joe Ancena, Central New York DDSO 9th Vice President Chrissy Nodecker, Local 6th Vice President Paul Jones, Feed Our Vets Co-Founder Michele Synek, Feed Our Vets Founder and Executive Director Richard Synek, Central New York DDSO Local 7th Vice President Rosemary Jones and Local Recording Secretary Kathy Kelly pose with a portion of the local’s donations.
