ACCORD Corporation Honors Cooperative Extension with Partner and Collaborator of the Year Award

COVID Food Distributions Reach Those in Need

Throughout the pandemic, food distributions were held every few weeks to ensure local families who had been impacted most had their basic needs met. Behind the scenes, these events require coordination, collaboration and volunteers to help them run smoothly. On June 25, 2021, ACCORD held their annual Professional Development Day where they recognized employees and community partners. Entitled “Everyday Heroes: Mission, Vision, Value Awards” ACCORD Community Operations Director, Belinda Knight introduced local organization, Cornell Cooperative Extension Allegany County, as the award recipient.

Speaking of the organization, Knight explained “Since the start of the pandemic, Cooperative Extension employees have been at every mobile distribution. They have assisted with picking up donations of product from Saputo to distribute at the mobile distributions, have delivered food to community members who were in need of delivery and in general are a great bunch of folks to work with! They have been reliable, dependable and helped us to become a well-oiled machine when it comes to mobile distributions, allowing us to serve more than 300 families weekly. We could not continue the mobile distributions without their support.” Cooperative Extension Executive Director, Laura Hunsberger, graciously accepted the award and remarked how important community collaborations are to meet the needs of the county.

Knight also remarked that “In addition to “showing up,” staff from this partner agency participate in quarterly meetings of the Allegany County Food Coalition, are members of various community boards, committees and coalitions, and support ACCORD’s program participants as a resource for nutrition education and healthy living through their various programs. This amazing agency team deserves special recognition as an exemplary community partner and a role model for community service, demonstrating unwavering dedication and commitment to compassionate care for the most vulnerable members of the community.”

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany County is a subordinate governmental agency with an educational mission that operates under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell University as agent for the State of New York. The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between County, State, and Federal governments. For more information, call 585-268-7644 or visit their website at www.cce.cornell.edu/allegany. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.