One Pelhamite Makes Sure Unused Food Doesn’t Go To Waste

Missy Palmisciano noticed a lot of food was left untouched when volunteering to serve at her child’s elementary school on "Pasta Fridays." At around the same time, Palmisciano also offered up her spare time to a soup kitchen at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. That's when she realized the two could combine forces.

“Basically, the food [at the school] was catered, and each day was a different item. Fridays were Pasta Fridays,” Palmisciano said. There "were big chafing dishes, big aluminum trays and there was a whole pasta left over and a whole meatball and sauce left over and it was really just going to waste. I thought that soup kitchens could use it.”

When the director of the soup kitchen told her that they could accept this food and would be thrilled to accept it, Palmisciano started getting excited.

“I started bringing her that pasta on the Fridays that I served, which was every other Friday. But after the first time I would pick up the pasta even on Fridays I didn't serve and then I asked the school if I started bringing the chicken fingers that we were serving on Wednesdays—if there were leftovers—so I started bringing those,” she said.

Palmisciano asked the soup kitchen if there were certain foods they needed and she started to collect bagels for them. When she started delivering more bagels than they needed, they suggested she take the extra to the Salvation Army.

And in October 2009, this was how County Harvest, a completely volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization, got its start, she said. Palmisciano started off doing it all on her own but soon, friends started volunteering their time to do bagel runs for her. She now has 25 food donors and nine agencies in lower Westchester County.

Palmisciano contacts her volunteers through email and phone since there isn’t an office anyone can go to. But as soon as she puts out a message needing someone to pick up and deliver, she always gets a response immediately.

“It has never ceased to amaze me how awesome the County Harvest volunteers are. They are dedicated, committed, enthusiastic. They’re happy and eager to help all the time,” she said.

County Harvest is always looking for new volunteers to help out.

“Some of them I’ve never met before and they're just so eager to help," she said. "It motivates me to want to get more food donors so we can hurry up and help more soup kitchens because all these people do want to help.”

Jennifer Dunbar, is one of 48 active volunteers with County Harvest. She started volunteering last spring. Dunbar has lived in Pelham for more than 10 years and knew Palmisciano through other volunteer projects and the Junior League of Pelham. She also volunteered at the same elementary school.

She currently makes pick up and deliveries every Friday morning. "I deliver to WestH.E.L.P, a traditional housing development in Mount Vernon,” she said. “I collect from Fairways, and the more food they bring out I get excited.”

“Just going to the place and seeing all the food lined up for these people makes me happy. To know that good food that would go to waste is going to people that need it," she added. This task only takes her about an hour to do and oftentimes she will fill in when needed.

Carol Murray, another volunteer who has also been living in Pelham for more than 10 years, says helping out County Harvest easily fits into her schedule.

“My run is on Fridays. So today I take about 1o trays [from a] catering business and deliver it to a food pantry in about 35 minutes,” Murray said. “It's volunteering that has a big impact and most people are so happy to do it.”

Erica Youngren, who has lived in Pelham since 2005 and has been volunteering for County Harvest for a year, agrees. “It’s great. I’m glad to be involved in her organization,” she said.

Youngren currently collects items from Trader Joe’s and delivers to Hope Community Services in New Rochelle.

“Hope Community Service gives away hundreds of bags of groceries every week to needy families,” Youngren said. “They really need food so it’s been very rewarding helping them fulfill their needs.”

Agencies and food donors that County Harvest picks up and delivers to are mostly in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon but Palmisciano hopes to find agencies in Yonkers and White Plains to deliver to because she has gotten Whole Foods as a new donor.

Palmisciano would love to eventually have a County Harvest in every county but for now she has one short-term goal in mind: "Making sure good food isn't thrown away."