Hillside Food Outreach is a grassroots 501(c) (3) not-for-profit food pantry established in 1993 to help feed 20 elderly people, in Westchester County, who were in need of food assistance, but were unable to access local food pantries. Today, Hillside has brought together over 350 volunteers to home deliver to over 2000 Westchester and Putnam Count, NY and Connecticut residents in need and we continue to grow every day. We provide food assistance to families with children, frail elderly, disabled and housebound individuals.

One of the things that makes Hillside unique, is its focus on providing food for individuals with special health and dietary requirements which, in many circumstance, goes unaddressed. We have found that in addition to needing food, many of our food recipients suffer from Diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure complications due to AIDS/HIV, cancer and other serious health issues. Hillside Food Outreach works to address these special dietary needs by providing healthy alternatives. Many food pantries offer food that is high in sugar, high salt, high calorie, high fat, high carb foods, canned and processed foods, such as white pasta, white rice, cereal with high sugar contents, canned meats, etc. Individuals who must use food pantries are forced to eat foods that can aggravate an already compromised medical condition. These foods can also serve to increase obesity in the poor that leads to greater health risks in all ages.

We have instituted a program that offers healthy alternatives for those in need of food. We work to help them obtain a better level of health through nutrition, but also alleviate increased health concerns and costs in the future for people already financially struggling. Hillside delivers fresh fruits, vegetables, and fresh dairy products to people, as well as grocery staples.

Hillside Food Outreach is also focused on long term change. First by delivering healthier food alternatives, we help clients to maintain a better level of health and nutrition, hopefully leading to decreased medical costs. The other way we focus on long term change is developing a bond with the clients wherever we deliver food. Hillside volunteers deliver in teams of 2 and deliver to the same 6-8 client households every month. This has enabled volunteers to establish a relationship with our clients that grows over time. As relationships develop, we have found that many clients open up with the volunteer, sharing their concerns. Many of our clients are alone and isolated, they mistrust 'official professionals' and other help agency professionals, however they view our volunteers as neighbors who care, allowing volunteers to be proactive in helping a client seek the assistance they may need. This is especially true for our elderly who are very alone, and fearful of asking help.