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The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is launching the largest single-day Thanksgiving meal distribution in New York State history — a first-of-its-kind effort that will reach families across the Hudson Valley.

Working with community partners and more than 800 volunteers, the Regional Food Bank will provide over one hundred fifteen thousand Thanksgiving meals to more than twenty-five thousand people in Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, and Sullivan counties. The initiative is part of a broader statewide effort that will see more than 350,000 meals distributed in one day across the Food Bank’s 23-county service area.

“This is the largest Thanksgiving distribution in the state,” said Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank. “We know the need is greater than ever, especially with federal spending cuts this year that eliminated more than seven million pounds of food to our region — that’s more than 5.8 million meals.”

Meeting a Growing Need

Barry Lewis, Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Regional Food Bank, spoke to Radio Catskill’s Patricio Robayo about the increasing demand for food assistance and how this year’s Thanksgiving program came together.

“Last year, when we stepped in to help with Thanksgiving distribution in the Capital Region, we served 150,000 meals across six counties — and they went in just 90 minutes,” said Lewis. “That told us everything we needed to know about the demand. This year, we’re expanding across all 23 counties we serve, including the Hudson Valley and North Country.”

The Hudson Valley distribution will take place on Friday, November 22, with the Sullivan County site located at the Government Center in Monticello. Cars can drive up beginning at 10 a.m., and volunteers will fill vehicles with bags weighing more than 30 pounds, including turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, potatoes, vegetables, and other holiday essentials.

“It’s going to be more than one meal,” said Lewis. “We want to give families a real holiday experience — something to last beyond just Thanksgiving Day.”

Open to All — No ID Required

Lewis emphasized that there are no eligibility requirements for those seeking meals.
“If you need a meal, you drive up or walk up and you’ll get one,” he said. “We’re not checking IDs or asking for proof of income. We’re here to serve the community.”

The Food Bank is also delivering Thanksgiving meals to a dozen senior housing sites throughout the Hudson Valley, including locations in Dutchess, Orange, and Putnam counties.

As food prices, rent, and heating costs rise, Lewis said more working families and seniors are turning to food banks for the first time. “We’re seeing people who have jobs, who are working hard, but just can’t stretch their paychecks far enough,” he said. “They haven’t done anything wrong — life just got harder, and we’re here to fill that gap.”

Volunteers and Community Support

The Thanksgiving distribution relies heavily on volunteers and local sponsors.

 “We’d have to hire two dozen more full-time staff to do what our volunteers do,” said Lewis. “They’re critical to everything we do.”

Residents who want to help can sign up for volunteer shifts at regionalfoodbank.net.

Lewis noted that the Monticello event will be finished by noon, making it an ideal opportunity for families to volunteer together. “It’s a great way to show your kids how they can make a difference in their own community,” he said.

Key sponsors of the Thanksgiving effort include Stop & Shop, Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Price Chopper/Market 32, Highmark Blue Shield, ShopRite, Walden Savings Bank, and numerous local partners.

How to Help or Receive a Meal

The Sullivan County distribution takes place at the Government Center, 100 North Street, Monticello, beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 22.

Additional Hudson Valley pickup sites include:

• Montgomery (Orange County): Regional Food Bank, 580 State Route 416
• Newburgh (Orange County): Mount Saint Mary College, 330 Powell Avenue
• Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County): Dutchess Community College, 53 Pendell Road
• Woodstock (Ulster County): Good Neighbor Food Pantry, 16 Rock City Road
• Pomona (Rockland County): Clover Stadium, 1 Phil Tisi Way

For more information, to donate, or to volunteer, visit regionalfoodbank.net

Over 200 advocates gathered in Manhattan for a conference on food security across New York State. The New York Health Foundation organized the event and said in their press release it was sparked by "recent federal funding cuts threatening the integrity of critical food assistance programs." Panelists discussed how to respond to these changes and how to protect New Yorkers. SNAP cuts and immigration crackdowns have impacted food pantries and agricultural nonprofits. 

Josh Stephani, the Director of the Adirondack Food System Network, said "We've actually had some food pantries reporting their numbers have cut in half because they're fearful; many of their clients and their guests, especially their non-English speakers, are fearful to attend."

Julia McCarthy, a Senior Program Officer at New York Health, introduced her panelists to an eager audience. "When we surveyed grantees ahead of this conference, we asked people who they wanted to hear from, and the answer was very clear. People wanted to hear from other local advocates to know what was working in their region and what was making them excited. And so I'm really delighted today to be able to ask three New Yorkers who are working in their own communities to ensure that there not only is access to food, but there is choice and dignity in accessing that food."

A Co-Executive Director at Catskills Agrarian Alliance, Francis Yu, helped represent the region at the conference. Their organization helps marginalized farmers and connects producers to consumers. They said, "It's been really great to listen in on what folks are doing around the state and just see some colleagues who are doing amazing work in their respective places across New York." They said the Alliance is responding to the changing landscape under President Trump's new budget. "We're seeing longer lines at the pantry. We're seeing more intake demand from these organizations, from hungry people and hungry families. And what we're seeing now with this administration is the severe cuts and setbacks that have in many cases terminated programs that were funding this kind of essential support."

The conference met on October 14th at the New York Bar Association near Times Square. It included a presentation about food access for the elderly, in addition to the panels, and a keynote speech by Corby Kummer, the Executive Director of Food and Society at the Aspen Institute. David Sandman, President and CEO of NYHealth, reflected, “We brought together leaders to strengthen advocacy, share best practices to adapt to federal changes, and protect access to healthy, affordable food for all New Yorkers.”

Residents of Woodridge are deeply concerned about increased water pollution in Sandburg Creek. In the last month, the popular fishing area has turned odorous and unusable. DEC’s investigation points towards a local egg processing facility, but this isn’t the first time the business has been in hot water.

Radio Catskill’s Genevieve Hartnett provides an update on what we know so far about the investigation.

For more than a decade, Delaware Currents has been a trusted, independent voice covering one of our region’s most vital lifelines — the Delaware River and its watershed. Founded by journalist Meg McGuire, the online publication has shined a light on the people, policies, and places that shape the river’s future — from drinking-water issues and dam management to environmental justice and the communities that depend on this shared resource.

But after ten years of in-depth, nonprofit journalism, Delaware Currents will shut down at the end of the year. Recently, Meg McGuire spoke with Radio Catskill’s Patricio Robayo about how Delaware Currents began, the stories she’s most proud of, the challenges of sustaining independent local journalism, and what led to the difficult decision to bring the publication to a close.

They also talked about what’s next — both for Meg and for the future of environmental reporting in the Delaware River region.

According to the FBI, 2024 saw a 33% rise in money lost from online scams. October is Cyber Security Month so Radio Catskill spoke with Mike Sinno,  the Director of Security Engineering at Google. He says artificial intelligence is one of the reasons scams are getting harder to spot:

"Using AI, the attackers are really supercharging themselves because it used to be you'd get an email and it was pretty obvious that it was phishing. The grammar was wrong. There were bad references. But now you can just prompt engineer it and say, 'write me an email that says this, and it's grammatically perfect...' So it's very easy for people to fall for. I know plenty of technical folks that, if you're under enough stress or you're not paying a hundred percent attention, it's very easy to just click on the thing because you're trying to get it done. And then you realize later on that they took your credit card number or whatever they were asking for."

Sinno explains that basic steps like creating unique passwords and verifying suspicious texts can make a huge impact. But, there's a responsibility on companies as well. Google, like many tech companies, has drawn concern over the use of AI data. Sinno says he cannot speak to specific policies but that users should be aware of privacy terms when interacting with any artificial intelligence.

He says Cyber Security Month is primarily about awareness and that at its core, internet safety can be remarkably simple. "My mom always said when I was little, 'don't talk to strangers.'" He emphasizes, "You need to approach everything with a level of skepticism that if you're not a hundred percent sure who you're communicating with, you need to verify it."

For Hispanic Heritage Month, Radio Catskill speaks with Isabelle Taft, immigration reporter for New York Focus, about her work covering the intersection of immigration, state policy, and human stories across New York.

Taft’s reporting sheds light on how state and local governments are responding to federal immigration enforcement — from county jails holding ICE detainees to statewide efforts to resettle recent arrivals. Her stories highlight how these policies shape not only immigrant lives but the entire fabric of New York communities.

“People think of immigration as a federal issue,” Taft says, “but what local sheriffs, mayors, and state officials do has a huge impact on whether New York lives up to its values.”

She also discusses the challenges of reaching detained or fearful sources and the importance of making direct contact with those most affected. “I try to make sure I’m hearing from people who are directly impacted, not just officials,” she explains.

As New York continues to navigate its role as a place of refuge and reinvention, Taft’s work underscores a truth at the heart of Hispanic Heritage Month — that telling the stories of immigrants is essential to understanding who we are.

This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.

Carter Walker, Votebeat

Oct 6, 2025 at 5:00am EDT

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.

In August, President Donald Trump vowed on social media to “lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS.”

In Pennsylvania, though, Republicans are sending voters a different message as they work to unseat three state Supreme Court justices this November, a historically difficult feat that will require turning out as many voters as they can.

“In 2024, we voted by mail and flipped Pennsylvania red,” a video ad from the Republican State Leadership Committee said, before urging voters to go to a website to request their mail ballots for the judicial retention election.

Republican voters in the commonwealth have been getting these kinds of clashing messages for years, said veteran GOP consultant Christopher Nicholas, noting that Trump’s conflicting statements mail voting in particular has meant “it has taken our base longer to integrate new voting options.”

But as state-level Republicans increasingly embrace mail voting, it appears voters are starting to as well.

For this November’s election, about 12,000 more Republican voters have requested mail ballots than did for the last municipal election in 2023, and there are still more than three weeks left to request a ballot.

As more of these voters use mail voting, Nicholas said, it has become less “scary” to them.

How the rhetoric on mail ballots shifted

It took the party a while to get to this point.

After the 2020 election, many Republicans cast doubt on the integrity of mail voting, and some legislators even tried to repeal the 2019 law that made it easier to vote by mail in Pennsylvania.

Republican voters shied away from it, too. For the six primary and fall elections from 2021 through 2023, Republicans made up only about 22% of all requests for mail ballots.

But the Republican rhetoric on mail ballots started to shift in Pennsylvania a few years ago.

After losing his 2022 bid for governor by roughly 15 percentage points, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Trump ally, said Republicans “have to embrace no-excuse mail-in voting,” and blamed his loss on their reluctance to do so.

Last April, in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, was featured in an ad encouraging Republicans in the state to vote by mail.

“If you’re working a double shift, or family responsibilities prevent you from voting on Election Day, Joe Biden wins,” he says in the ad. “Pennsylvania, I need you to join the mail-in voting list today.”

Trump himself also encouraged mail voting at times last year.

And it seemed to have worked. In the 2024 presidential election, Republicans made up 32% of voters requesting mail ballots, a greater portion than ever before.

Still, Trump has persisted with his rhetoric against mail voting.

“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS,” he wrote in an Aug. 18 social media post. “I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS.”

Jim Billman, chair of the Berks County GOP, said he agrees with the president’s recent statements and would like to see non-absentee mail voting eliminated, as he considers it too susceptible to fraud. But despite how he feels, he said Republicans still need to take advantage of the option in order to be competitive with Democrats.

“Even though we want to see this end someday, right now, it is the law of the land,” he said, so his advice to voters is “If you can’t get out to cast your ballot in person, cast a mail-in ballot.”

Infrequent voters are the target

When considering turnout, political parties and activists often think of voters in terms of how often they vote within a four-year election cycle. A “four year,” or “4y,” voter is one who votes every election, and can generally be counted on to cast a ballot.

But voters who rarely or never cast ballots, or only vote in the even-numbered years associated with bigger federal elections, are the ones parties hope might use mail ballots.

These are the “iffy votes” that Billman said he’s targeting for mail-in ballots. “You really have no excuse if your mail-in ballot comes to your house.”

The state Republican Party takes a similar line. James Markley, communications director for the Pennsylvania GOP, told Votebeat and Spotlight PA that while mail voting has its flaws, the party encourages voters to use any “legal means necessary” to cast their vote.

“If mail-in balloting is part of the process, and voters can’t make it to the polls on Election Day, then they should request a mail-in ballot and make sure their voices are heard,” he said.

The state GOP’s website gives three ways to cast a ballot, with the first two being versions of mail voting, and in-person voting listed third.

Scott Presler, a conservative activist who primarily focuses on turning out swing state voters for Trump, has also been pushing mail voting heavily on his social media pages, calling it an “emergency backup ballot” voters can use if they are unable to make it to the polls on Election Day.

Nicholas, the Republican consultant, said that for party officials, how GOP voters turn in their ballot is much less important than making sure they vote.

“Winning a campaign,” he said, “is preeminent.”

Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at [email protected].

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization covering local election integrity and voting access. Sign up for their newsletters here.

Speaking from inside Woodbourne Correctional Facility, incarcerated activist Atit Weston is urging state lawmakers to close what he calls a “constitutional loophole” — the failure of 28 U.S. states, including New York, to fully codify the anti-slavery language of the 13th Amendment into their state constitutions.

Weston, currently serving a 15-year sentence for manslaughter and robbery, has dedicated his time behind bars to research and legislative advocacy. Along with fellow inmates, he discovered that more than half of U.S. states have yet to fully adopt the federal amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in 1865.

“There is no reason why any state should not already be in full compliance,” said Weston. “Without the 13th Amendment, minorities in America would still be acknowledged as property.”

Weston’s activism extends beyond prison reform. He recently proposed a federal bill — the Torture and Terrorism Deterrence Act of 2025 — which he says was acknowledged by Congressman Pat Ryan’s office. The bill seeks to prosecute mass shootings, hate crimes, and cyberattacks as acts of terrorism and would enhance protections for public officials and critical infrastructure.

Despite his incarceration, Weston continues to seek clemency, citing what he calls an unconstitutional conviction. “All human beings are worthy, regardless of the mistakes they’ve made,” he said.

He’s also critical of current prison conditions, describing retaliation and deteriorating quality of life for inmates following recent staffing shortages and strikes. While he credits the military presence at Woodbourne with improving professionalism, he questions its legality under New York military law.

Calling on lawmakers and civil rights groups to act, Weston hopes his efforts will inspire legislative change — both inside and outside the prison walls. “This is about respect, human dignity, and fixing what should have been corrected 160 years ago,” he said.