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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/25/07                                  CONTACT:    Amy Klein

                                                                                                                  (518) 274-8685

AREA YOUTH GROUP ORGANIZES ‘HARVEST FOR THE HUNGRY’ PROJECT
TO COLLECT FRESH PRODUCE FOR CAPITAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY
GARDENS’ SQUASH HUNGER PROGRAM

Saint Thomas the Apostle Church Youth Ministry Group, of Delmar, helped to collect healthy
food for the hungry throughout the Capital District.

Troy, N.Y. - A dozen high school and middle school aged children from the Saint Thomas 
Youth Ministry Group, in Delmar NY, collected over three hundred pounds of fresh fruit 
for local shelters and pantries throughout the Capital District.  

The youth group’s project, ‘Harvest for the Hungry’, was designed to aid Squash Hunger, a 
program managed by Capital District Community Gardens (CDCG).  Squash Hunger, which 
was launched in 2004, is a fresh produce collection program with eight convenient drop-off 
locations, throughout the Capital District.  Volunteers collect the produce and distribute it 
to a dozen food pantries, shelters and soup kitchen within local communities.  This year, 
CDCG was approached by Maureen Bernstein, Director of Youth Ministry at Saint Thomas 
Apostle Church, with the proposal to have the youth group help in the collection and 
distribution of much needed nutritious food.

“St. Thomas Parish’s Youth Ministry program is built on the spirit and willingness of youth to plan, lead, and accomplish activities that put their Catholic faith into action, and that provide them with a sense of friendship, learning and love.  The youth’s support of the ‘Harvest for the Hungry’ project, where local produce was harvested and delivered directly to those in need, is an example of the youth’s dedication to service, and a reflection of their spirit and expanding faith,” said Maureen Bernstein.

The youth group collected pears from a private residence in Delmar and then gathered apples from Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont.  The large accumulation of produce was then delivered, by the youth group and with the help of parent volunteers, to shelters and pantries within the Capital Region.

You can learn more about the Squash Hunger program, as well as Capital District Community Gardens, by visiting www.cdcg.org. Or for more information on how you can help please call 274-8685.

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