Parklets Are Here! And Homespun Is Open On Mondays

Just months after Homespun’s new owner and sommelier, Joe Robitaille bought Homespun from its former longtime owners and founders, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, and businesses and restaurants were forced to close. The rollout of Unemployment Insurance was rocky and overwhelmed almost every state in America including New York State. The subsequent business bailout, known as the PPP Loan, was a moving target in terms of who could apply and how the money could be spent if the business owner wanted the loan forgiven, leaving restaurants owners and staff in precarious situations between the PPP Loan and Unemployment Insurance but not both, with initial penalties to restaurant owners who could not bring all staff back (if staff stayed on Unemployment Insurance).

After the long, cold spring of 2020, the City of Beacon followed the trend of allowing street-dining in sectioned off “parklets,” where patrons, hungry for in-person dining, could come to gather around a table, and inspire a new round of photos prompting mask-judging as patrons could go mask-less as masked servers waited on them. The judgement passed, and diners continued to come, well into the fall, bundled in coats and all. Some speculated as to the safety of the parklets, but no reports of accidents emerged from the June - November season.

Homespun was one of the most cautious restaurants and delayed their opening, focusing instead on building their wine selection, to sell bottles of their highly researched wine selection. They invested in an online store to sell the wine, reflecting Joe’s training as a sommelier. Homespun eventually opened from Thursdays - Sundays for outdoor dining only in the patio out back, and just last week, announced that they had opened their small dining room for some indoor dining, and were adding Monday as an open day. This is great news for locals, who can enjoy Beacon without the weekend rush, and a win for businesses who need more business than just weekends.

City of Beacon Receives More Parklet Requests This Year

The parklet at Max’s On Main, which arrived this week to kick off the warm season.

This year, Councilmember George Mansfield announced the parklet applications, stating that the City had opened them to more business types, and for no fee. “I just wanted to let everyone know that for businesses on Main Street, we're accepting applications for the parklets for Dining or Hospitality or Retail. Applications are being accepted at City Hall. No Costs. Hope you use it because it was a successful attempt to assuage business last year. Looks like we're going to have a good spring. For now, the City is trying to do what we can to help those businesses on Main Street.”

Councilperson Mansfield is also a business owner in Beacon, having opened Dogwood. In December 2020, George temporarily closed Dogwood for the winter, and at the end of April 2021, re-opened on Saturdays and Sundays, beginning at 2pm.

During the April 19, 2021 City Council meeting, Mayor Lee Kyriacou stated that there had been more applicants this year, and that he supported no-fee. “More applications [came in] this year than last year. They should be without charge. We considered a charge, I will be coming to Council. We may need approval for additional funds. I think it's the right thing to do.” It is unclear at this time what those additional funds would be for the parklets.

During Tuesday Business meetings last year during the shut-down, where business owners could call in and discuss issues with the former City Administrator Anthony Ruggiaro, discussions were had on the purchase of the parklets by the City of Beacon, and how they would look in the street.

Parklets Arrive To Main Street Parking Spots

Business owners who applied for the parklets arrived at work today (Monday) morning to see them positioned out front of their establishments in the street. Some parklets occupy 3 on-street parking spots, which have some residents questioning how parking will be impacted in Beacon. On Sundays, the currently free municipal parking lot at the DMV, owned by Dutchess County, will be occupied by the Beacon Farmers Market, who was moved there by the City of Beacon for the 2021 season, years after a contentious and confusing negotiation to stay at their usual Veterans Place location in 2019, during which they encountered resistance from the Towne Crier, yet had overwhelming support from other surrounding businesses.

The DMV municipal parking lot is occupied by visitors in cars on Saturdays and Sundays, and has 2 electric car chargers. The small municipal parking lot across the street across from the gas station is also usually full on weekends, despite comments made during City Council Meetings that both parking lots are under-utilized. Below are photos of the parking lots taken on the past two Sundays, mid-day.

The Windows And Doors Stay Open

In order to have a safe and successful indoor dining experience for everyone involved, including staff and patrons, several restaurants are opting to keep their windows and doors open. Reports have come in that some patrons are requesting to have a window be shut, but the preference is to remain open for ventilation. The same practice is happening in Beacon schools, in addition to upgrades to ventilation systems.

Several restaurants on Main Street made upgrades to their ventilation systems, including Meyers Olde Dutch (currently under renovation, to open soon in May), and Dogwood. Owner George Mansfield says that Dogwood cannot take advantage of the parklet option because they have no on-street parking outside of their building. “We’re just trying to make our inside air as good or better than the outside air,” owner George Mansfield told A Little Beacon Blog. “We installed a high tech ventilation system that scrubs the air of 98% of pathogens. Hoping for the best.”

Editorial Notice: As a notice, Homespun and Meyers Olde Dutch are advertisers with A Little Beacon Blog.

Free Breakfast And Lunch Meals Continue For Rest Of School Year

Today, the Beacon City School District, by way of Food Services Director Karen Pagano, announced that breakfast and lunch meals will continue to be free for the rest of the school year. The first time this happened was made possible from funding from the USDA.

For Remote families (both Hybrid and 100% Remote), there are 2 ways to get the meals: Delivery and Pickup. Both require signup, but if families are already signed up, they do not need to re-enroll. There have been benefits to being signed, including partnerships with outside organizations, like Fareground, who use the bus delivery and pickup service to get programming materials such as Meal Kits to students.

Parents and caregivers who work from home are encouraged to sign up for Delivery or Pickup. If they think they can pickup, but in reality missed pickups due to work, parents should signup for Delivery. Many parents have reported having work meetings scheduled during their official pickup times, making it difficult to get the food. The bus system has worked well, and requires advance coordination and a person at home to receive the meals. Sign up for Delivery or Pickup here at the Beacon City School’s website.

"Meal Kits" To Come With Free Remote Meals For Beacon Kids - Kitchen Staples Included - Sign Up Required!

Remote Learning Life just got a little more enriched with the delivery of fresh food and Meal Kits to prepare it for kids and families who signed up for Beacon’s Free Remote Meals by Friday, October 9, 2020. Kits will include items such as a child-safe knife and cutting board, olive oil, a seasonal recipe and a recipe binder. This initiative has been made possible through local organizations in a collaborative project of the Beacon City School District, Common Ground Farm, Land to Learn, Fareground and Green Teen Beacon to ensure that all students have access to fresh food both in school and at home.

To get this Meal Kit, you need to have signed up by Friday, October 9, 2020, which you can do online here. If you have already signed up, you are good. You don’t need to sign up again for this special kit.

Says Erika Rincon, Beacon’s Farm to School Coordinator who works for Common Ground Farm about the program: “Each month, we will highlight our Vegetable of the Month by including the vegetable, a simple recipe, and fun facts! We will also supply families with video demonstrations and a link to participate in a recipe taste test after you have made the dish! In October, we will be featuring kale from Common Ground Farm!”

Kids are used to the Vegetable of the Month concept, as it was incorporated into the school menu, and at South Avenue and possibly other schools, playful and interactive charts were posted about it in the school cafeteria.

October 9th is also the deadline to sign up to have remote meals delivered to your home. Once you have signed up to receive a free breakfast/lunch meal, and you know that you will have trouble picking it up from one of the Beacon destinations, you are able to sign up for Delivery by school bus. Don’t be shy. Just sign up now for delivery so that they can organize (deadline October 9, 2020). Delivery begins on October 21, 2020.

If you are reading this after October 9, 2020, and have not yet signed up for Free Meals, you can do that at any time by clicking here.

Beacon City Schools Coordinate Bus Delivery For Free Lunch Meals For Remote Learners - Sign Up Required

When in a pandemic, and when the USDA is funding your local lunches and breakfasts for kids who need it, sometimes getting access to that food can be hard. The Beacon City School District has gone to great lengths to prepare food that can be warmed up at home for kids meals, in addition to produce and packaged snacks. While the meals area available in 5 different locations on a Wednesday between a certain daytime time slot, getting to that food can be difficult for parents and caregivers who are working or unavailable during that time window. Therefore, the district has organized a bus delivery system to bring the food to the people.

Piloted in the spring when this pandemic first started, the district has had some practice at this delivery method. When the federal government funded all meals to public school districts including Beacon, lots of kids are now eligible for the free food, which can include pizza slices, chicken nuggets, and even a cucumber/tomato/feta salad. Not to mention: Scooby Snacks.

Delivery begins October 21, 2020, but signup is required by October 9, 2020. Don’t delay, sign up now. It’s easy and involves a Google Form. Delivery is every Wednesday starting at 10am, and someone must be home to receive it.

Pickups for meals is also on Wednesday at different locations, like South Avenue or Rombout. The receiver simply needs to select which location they want to pickup. Or, if they are opting for delivery, the form that needs to be filled out will take them off the pickup list.

At this time, opting into getting a free meal is easy. One should not not do it because they are saving a place for someone else. There is plenty of food. If you are in need, or if your kids miss school pizza, opt-in.

Details on the free meals program for all kids through December 31, 2020 are here.

All Beacon City School Students Eligible For Free Breakfast and Lunch Through December 31, 2020

As families prepare for the first day of school on Monday, a new development was emailed to parents and caregivers from Karen Pagano, the Director of Food and Nutrition for Beacon City School District.

Big School Meal announcement! All Beacon City School Students will be eligible for Free Breakfast and Lunch meals for all school days through December 31, 2020. This can be very exciting for kids, as they see their old meals from school, like School Pizza and School Chicken Nuggets, which seem to have special properties that cannot be duplicated in store-bought meals. In addition to School Scooby Snacks, and other items that show up in the prepared meals, like fresh broccoli. The financial assistance this gives to parents and caregivers is a given.

Kids In Hybrid Schedule

Students in Hybrid schedule will have Breakfast and Lunch meals available in their School buildings on the days they are attending classes. To help with social distancing, kids will be eating meals in their classrooms.

Kids In Remote Learning Schedule
(And On Home Days If On Hybrid Schedule)

Meals for kids during Remote Learning Days will be available for pick up at select schools by reservation only.
A google form for Remote learning days meals will sent in a separate email.

Click here to fill out the Google Form to schedule meal-pickups.

The form needs to be completed by September 14th at 10am to be guaranteed meal availability on September 16th. Meal orders placed after September 14th will be processed for distribution the following week. Meals will continue to be prepared for you each week until the receiver cancels. There is a No-Milk option, if one wants to opt to not be given the cartons of milk. The milk is usually 1%, and if a family doesn’t drink that version (we drink Whole, for instance), a lot of milk goes down the drain.

How Is This Possible?

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) extended the Free Meals Program, as they did at the end of the school year, and for the summer meals program. A Little Beacon Blog wrote about how to apply for the Free Meals Program if a person was still unemployed and in financial hardship.

Those who had applied for the program did receive a random financial gift on their P-EBT card. While this current extension of the Free Meals Program requires no application, people may still want to apply for the Free Meals Program for 2021, and just in case New York State deposits another $420 of grocery money onto the P-EBT card.

Anonymous Donor Donates $1,000 In Key Food Gift Cards By Way Of Local Non-Profits and School District

According to a press release from the City of Beacon, Mayor Lee Kyriacou announced that the City of Beacon – as a result of an anonymous donation – is distributing over $1,000 in Key Food Gift Cards by way of various local non-profit groups and the Beacon City School District.

The gift cards, issued at Beacon’s Key Food grocery store, will be redistributed to local families going through financial difficulties during the current health crisis and economic downturn. The city was able to provide gift cards to local religious institutions, non-profit groups and the Beacon City School District.

Mayor Lee Kyriacou said, “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the generous Beacon resident who sought anonymously to help others during these unpredictable economic times. Many families are in need of this donation and I am happy that the City of Beacon could assist.”

Pastor John Perez from the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, whose church is located on North Cedar Street, said: “In these difficult times, it is truly a blessing for those in need.”

For those who need to visit a Food Pantry, find a guide at A Little Beacon Blog’s Food Pantry Guide.

Free Lunch Program Continues - New Signups For Those Unemployed Encouraged Now

When the announcement of the free $420 food credit to be used at stores was announced by Governor Cuomo, ALBB blogged about it, and then reached out to Beacon City School’s Director of Food and Nutrition, Karen Pagano, to ask how this works with the school’s Free Lunch Program, which she was encouraging people to sign up for back in the spring of the pandemic. People did, who were unexpectedly unemployed due to the pandemic. As of today, 650 people are enrolled in the Free Lunch Program.

As the ReOpening has been happening, some people have returned to work, but not everyone. Can people still apply for the 2020/2021 Free Lunch Program? “Yes,” says Karen. Because government services can be a little complicated, we are going to let Karen explain how it works in her words:

Each District submitted to SNAP or NYS a list of Students enrolled as of March 15, 2020, that qualified for free meals in our district either with:

• Income application

• Homeless status

• Directly certified through SNAP or Financial need based Medicaid.

We submitted this file back in May or June 2020. This was the list used for eligibility for the P-EBT funding you wrote about here.

We do not get notified if families have received the P-EBT cards, so if a family has questions about the card, they need to follow up with the numbers listed in your other article: NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance at 1-833-452-0096 or by email at otda.sm.eisp.PEBT@otda.ny.gov

Meal eligibility for Income applicants from the previous 2019-2020 School year will continue until a new application is submitted, or until mid October 2020 with no new application submitted.

Meal applications for the 2020-2021 School year are available on our District website for parents to download and print a copy - fill out manually and send back to the Food Service Office either electronically or in hard copy. We will also be sending copies home with students on the first day of school if they are attending building classes. We are looking to do a mass mailing for those that are not attending in school classes to get the applications out.

We are in the works for setting up online applications through a program called myschoolapps (students and parents use this now to fill breakfast/lunch money on for their kids to use at school - it’s the digital form of “lunch money”) but we will not be able to have this up and running until likely the first week of September as the company supporting this function is at the moment overwhelmed.

Families should still apply for free meals even if they are not attending in-building classes as we will be preparing grab and go meals with distribution for those enrolled families through a drive-by-pick-up on Wednesdays at BHS and RMS starting on September 16th. Parents will need to sign up for this service through a new addition to MySchoolBucks platform and that sign up should be available by the end of August.

We will be preparing these grab and go complete Nutritious Breakfasts and Lunches for the 3-day Remote Learning coverage as well as 5-day for all remote learning eligible students all with Wednesday distribution, times TBD.

We have certified about 650 students for Free meals who qualify for SNAP for the 2020-2021 year and have sent emails or if no email is on file, hard copy notification to those families about their continuation of free meals in the School year.

We will continue to update this download from NYS SNAP recipients on a monthly basis to capture newly added students receiving SNAP and therefore automatically eligible for free meals.

How Will The Non-Free, Paying School Lunch Program Work?

Currently, the Beacon City School District uses MySchoolBucks.com to handle money on kid’s meal cards. Parents log in and make deposits onto the cards whenever they want to. But how will this work on the Hybrid or All Remote Learning plan for parents who do not qualify for the Free Lunch Program? Karen answers:

“You would pre-order each week - all or nothing. You get 3 or 5 breakfast and 3 or 5 lunches (this will depend on if your child is in school 2 days a week or all remote). If your child is in school 2 days a week, they can also get breakfast as a grab-and-go bring into classroom, and lunch which will be pre-ordered in the morning with choices for meals that will be delivered into the classrooms. Both are optional - both are free for free qualifying students and payment necessary again on account with www.myschoolbucks.com for paying students who do not qualify for the Free Lunch Program. No money at school please.”

New Food Benefit of $420 In Groceries To Kids Who Lost Food Benefits - The P-EPT Card Or Deposit

September is a breath away and most of us are either trying to ignore the “back-to-school” air August carries, or desperately trying to prepare for the upcoming school year. In Governor Cuomo’s daily coronavirus update email sent out on August 10th, 2020, he included an update regarding the pandemic and the reopening of schools, as well as an opportunity for kids who lost food benefits due to COVID-19 school closures can access meals through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program.

P-EBT is an important update that requires attention prior to the end of August. P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer) is a newly implemented program regarding the food benefits for families during the COVID-19 school closures. Children who lost free or reduced-price school meals will now be able to buy food at participating stores under the P-EBT benefits, for $420, according to Governor Cuomo’s update. If your child is eligible, but your household has not received a P-EBD card and/or benefit by mid-August, call NYSOTDA at 1-833-452-0096. More details here. Benefits will be issued automatically. There is no application. However, you should call the number with any questions if you don’t have a card.

While there is not application, it may be necessary for you to be enrolled in the Free Lunch Program, which had been made available over the spring for the upcoming year, which starts in September 2020. ALBB blogged about this in April 2020, to bring awareness to the program for those who are unemployed. If you are still unemployed, you are encouraged to apply now. It is unsure at this time if the $420 deposit will be made to you if you are signing up for this program now. So it seems like signing up for the program would be beneficial.

The information you need is on this website, however we have broken it down for you below.

Who Is Eligible?

• Children who have received free or reduced-price meals

• Children who attend schools that offer free meals to all

How Much Are P-EBT Benefits?

Each eligible child will receive $420

When and How Will I Receive P-EBT?

There is different criteria for different types of situations:

• Families that receive SNAP or Public Assistance (PA): benefits will be available on your current EBT card. Expect two payments: $193 in early June, $227 in late June.

• Families who use Medicaid (but not SNAP) do not need to complete an application to get free school meals. Benefits will be available on your (or your oldest child’s) Medicaid card. Expect one payment: $420 between June and late August.

• All Other Eligible Children: benefits will be available on a new EBT card (one for each eligible child) mailed to your house. Expect one payment: $420 between July and late August.

I Have Not Received Payment…

If you have not received a P-EBT card and/or benefit by mid-August, call NYSOTDA at 1-833-452-0096.

Other Important Information:

• Immigration status does not matter:

• Using P-EBT does not affect your or your child’s immigration status. The public charge rule does not apply to P-EBT.

• P-EBT is not SNAP.

• You can use other nutrition programs, like summer meals, SNAP, and WIC, while using P-EBT.

• You can still get “grab and go” or delivered meals served by your school.

• You cannot give your card to another person or household to use. If you wish to donate your benefit, you can buy food and donate it to a food pantry.

I Still Have Questions…

Contact NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance at 1-833-452-0096 or by email at otda.sm.eisp.PEBT@otda.ny.gov

For more information, visit: HungerSolutionsNY.org/PEBT

Beacon Farmers Market Opens For In-Person, Time-Slot-Based Pickup; SNAP Available; Delivery Remains For Those Quanrantined

Photo Credit: The produce photo is by Maple View Farm.

This Sunday, May 31, 2020, the Beacon Farmers Market will open on its usual outdoor summer spot on Veterans Place, in between the Post Office and Towne Crier and across the street from Beacon Natural. For the past several weeks, the Beacon Farmers Market has been doing pre-order and delivery only, which was a huge undertaking that involved two different website builds, and order fulfillment from several vendors.

The market will remain offering online pre-orders for those who are immune-compromised, at risk, or quarantined, as well as for any SNAP customers participating in the pre-order coupon program. SNAP customers who need to use it for pre-ordering online can learn how to do that here for SNAP which includes $30 worth of groceries. Otherwise, SNAP will be accepted in person at the market on Sunday.

Like the rest of the Phase 1 opening, this will be a slow reopen, and will not be the socialness as usual. Expressed on the market’s Instagram and website: “Please be mindful that our number one priority is human health. Our mission is to make local and responsibly harvested food available to you while helping the local food economy and supply survive. It is important to remember that New York is still on pause, and undergoing a slow, phased reopening. This is not the usual social gathering space as we know it.”

While farmers markets were deemed essential businesses and could remain open, the Beacon Farmers Market opted to go delivery and pickup only. “We are taking COVID 19 very seriously,” continued the reopening message on their Instagram. “We have re-designed the layout and protocol for the safety of our patrons, vendors, and staff for this upcoming season.”

How To Shop Properly At The Beacon Farmers Market COVID-19 Style

You’ll need a shopping spot that is a 30-minute opportunity to walk the market to get your things. Sign up for your shopping time-slot here. But, according to the Beacon Farmers Market, if your desired time slot is full, or if it’s full when you arrive, walk-ins will be accommodated. In other-words, everyone is figuring it out, and you can wait in a social distanced manner around the are of the market.

Read the shopping guidelines here on the shopping signup page, so as to be prepared of how you need to be when you go to market. Highlights include:

• Wearing a mask to enter the market.

• Limit of shoppers to 1 person per household.

• Get in, get out. Shop safely and efficiently.

• About shopping: The time you pick to shop is not an appointment. It’s an approximation, according the Beacon Farmers Market: “Time slot registrations are not appointment times. If the market is at capacity when you arrive, please wait patiently for entry.”

CSA Listings Are LIVE In A Little Beacon Blog's Business Directory! Don't See Your Farm Listed? Find Out How To Apply Below!

A Little Beacon Blog is waiving the listing fee for New York CSAs for those farms who are trying to reach consumers with fresh produce, and for those people who are looking for variation on where they are finding fresh food, and want to support local farms who have lost restaurant clients and other wholesale orders.

We did some deep digging and found a few Hudson Valley CSA farms and listed them HERE. Don’t see your farm listed? Find out how to APPLY below.

HOW TO APPLY: If you are a CSA who wants to be listed, please reach out to us via our Contact Us form. Please include your CSA name, website URL, Facebook, Instagram, and a one-sentence description of the type of food you offer.

Normally, ALBB’s Business Listing program is a monthly subscription model. Level 1 is currently free for CSAs. Those who want to upgrade and show pictures can do so for the price of Level 1.

FREE CSA Listing In A Little Beacon Blog's Business Directory! Apply Now

A Little Beacon Blog is waiving the listing fee for New York CSAs for those farms who are trying to reach consumers with fresh produce, and for those people who are trying to vary where they purchase fresh food, and who want to support local farms that have lost restaurant clients and other wholesale orders.

HOW TO APPLY: If you are a CSA who wants to be listed, please reach out to us via our Contact Us form. Please include your CSA name, Website URL, Facebook, Instagram, and 1 sentence description of the type of food you offer.

Normally, ALBB’s Business Listing program runs on a monthly subscription model. Level 1 is currently free for CSAs. Those who want to upgrade and show pictures can do so for the price of Level 1.

Free Groceries : Wednesday, April 8: Rombout Middle School & South Ave. Elementary

The Free Grocery Hour is back! On Wednesday, April 8, from 10 to 11 am, people who need them can pick up a pre-bagged bag of groceries at Rombout Middle School or South Avenue Elementary. This food opportunity is during the same time as the Beacon City School District Grab-n-Go meal pickup, but is a different program. Anyone who needs them can pick up the groceries; one does not need to be a student or parent.

Food items include nonperishable items such as pasta or sauce, as well as fresh produce.

How The Free Groceries Work

For social distancing, this will be a drive-through service. No car? No problem. You could walk, or call ahead for delivery. Delivery deadline is Tuesdays. Send your request to mutualaidbeacon@gmail.com or call/text (845) 288-2559 by 5 pm on Tuesday. 🥕 People should visit one location only.

Free Groceries Brought To You By…

This food program is brought to you by Fareground, Common Ground, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Extension's Green Teen Program, Dutchess County, Hudson Valley Seed, Mutual Aid Beacon, and the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. This program works together with the Beacon City School District, but is a separate program from the school meals distribution.

Funding for this comes in part from donations made to Mutual Aid Beacon, Fareground, Common Ground and others.

New York Launches First Responders Fund; Blackstone Makes $10M Donation, and $5M Donation To Food Security

During Monday’s daily COVID-19 briefing, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a new fund, the First Responders Fund, to assist COVID-19 health care workers and first responders with expenses and costs, including child care. The fund is open to all to contribute to, and is accepting donations.

The first donation announced was a $10 million contribution from Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms who seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for their investors, the companies in which they invest, and the communities in which they live and work, according to their website. They serve institutional investors around the world, including retirement systems that represent tens of millions of teachers, firefighters and other pensioners.

A second donation has been made to help with food security. According to Blackstone’s news release: “Additionally, the firm is donating $5 million to organizations providing food security and resources for New Yorkers in need. City Harvest, World Central Kitchen, Great Performances and Slice Out Hunger are all working to provide meals for healthcare workers, first responders and other vulnerable populations. Contributions to our nonprofit partners such as Coalition for the Homeless, Union Settlement and Covenant House New York, among others, have helped provide critical support to at-risk communities affected by COVID-19. You can read the full announcement here.”

To donate, Gov. Cuomo directs you to donate directly through Health Research Incorporated, which you can access here, or by check mailed to "Health Research, Inc., 150 Broadway, Suite 560, Menands, NY 12204." Donors should specify the donation is for "COVID-19 NYS Emergency Response."

According to its website: “Health Research, Inc. (HRI) contributes to the health and well-being of the people of New York State by complementing and enabling the strategic goals of the New York State Department of Health and its partners. Donations to Health Research, Inc. are put to immediate use to further public health and research programs.”

New Group Created For Quarantined People and Folks Who Need Help: Beacon Mutual Aid

Photo Credit: Logo from the Beacon Mutual Aid website.

The first thoughts of quarantine were scary: How will I get my things? How will I get my groceries? How will I get my special shampoo (admit it - you thought it, and then you remembered that most brands and boutique hair salons are shipping). Beacon Mutual Aid has emerged as a group of volunteers who are helping to connect those dots - your need, and how to make it happen. Help is available in Spanish and English.

Weeks into our Stay-At-Home Life here in Beacon, NY, we have adjusted to new ways of shopping for food (easy Key Food runs for well-stocked and disinfected shelves, Beacon Natural for new curbside pickup and delivery options and new hours, Beacon Farmers Market, open for pre-order and pickup with possible delivery option, Artisan Wine Shop making deliveries, and several of your favorite boutiques making personal deliveries or shipping through the mail.

The deeper thoughts are scarier: What if I get sick? Who will care for my kids if I’m a solo parent? What if I’m too sick to feed myself? How will I get my prescriptions? Grocery delivery via Peapod isn’t as fast or well stocked with brands (two-week wait time is common), so insta-in-person-to-friend requests are faster for getting what you need. Volunteers have offered to help with deliveries, so at this time in Beacon, you are surrounded by help. All you need to do is ask.

While Governor Andrew Cuomo has been trying to address these needs as he leads us to the apex by strongly encouraging that pharmacies deliver medications (a recent agreement 3/29/2020… if you’re hiring delivery people, post your job for free here on A Little Beacon Blog), Beaconites were ahead of the curve.

Beacon Mutual Aid Group Pops Up - To Help Anyone

An example of a request made by a Facebook member of Beacon Mutual Aid, in search of an item for a neighbor.
Photo Credit: Screenshot of Beacon Mutual Aid

Beacon Mutual Aid was spearheaded by Dara Silverman and developed by many, including Virginia Beata, who stepped in to help manage. At first it was based on Facebook, and then grew to have a website so that more people could request help, and has been taking requests for help from anyone who lives in Beacon. The number of volunteers in the group quickly rose from 80 to 200, and now possibly more. According to the website, the concept was based on similar community-need models in other states: “Thank you to Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville, Community Care and Mutual Aid Milwaukee, Mutual Aid Solidarity Network of Seattle and others who are models for this work.”

Requests that come in can be for anything: a grocery request from a quarantined mom who wonders how to do meal pickup (answer: arrange for delivery with the Beacon City School district! email landahl.m@beaconk12.org to sign up for delivery), to a request on behalf of someone’s neighbor who broke their foot and needs a standing wheel scooter.

While people can officially make a request for help from Beacon Mutual Aid via a form on Beacon Mutual Aid’s website, people in-the-know can connect with each other quickly via Facebook to ask questions or put out a request - even on behalf of their neighbor who has no connection to computers or the Internet. But you don’t need to be on Facebook to use the group. You don’t even have to know how to use the Internet to use the group.

“Do I Need To Know Someone To Use The Group?”

The beautiful thing about the group is that it spurs a person to think about their neighbor. While Mayor Lee Kyriacou encourages citizens to check on their neighbors in his COVID-related robo-calls to residents, this group has split into “pods,” where people coordinate with their own neighbors or blocks to be vocal in the group to ask for something on behalf of their neighbor who may have no access to Facebook, or the Internet, or be comfortable with asking others for help at all. You don’t need to have a “pod” to use the group. You can be a random, unaffiliated person in Beacon.

Personally, I have been calling my slightly senior citizen neighbor to ask if she needs grocery pickups. Recently I have been letting my younger (40s) solo neighbor know that should he get sick and have no one there, to text me. Call 911 in an emergency of course, but text me, too. Keep me in the loop for any needs. As for my divorced single mom neighbor, of course she knows I am there for her for anything, but recently, I planted the seed of: “What if your ex-husband gets sick, and we know his parents are too old to physically care for him? Have you considered this scenario, since he lives alone?”

No one wants to feel alone in this quarantined, social-distanced life, and the Beacon Mutual Aid Group has helped aid in that.

How To Use The Beacon Mutual Aid Group

Anyone can use it, and no request is too small. According to Dara’s quote in The Highlands Current, they get a lot of requests for soap and groceries. I personally have used it to find experts in certain fields for quotes and resources for articles here at A Little Beacon Blog. They are also very connected to the handmade mask movement that started weeks ago to address known shortages for masks (yes, Governor Cuomo said today that they did not predict this shortage, but this had been a known fact inside of hospitals if you had any friends who were working the front lines in hospitals, despite the White House saying that shipments were coming from whatever large company contributing to the cause).

Activating Help Within The Beacon Mutual Aid Group

Need something? Fill out this Request For Help form.

Want to offer your help? Fill out this Offers form.

Organize a neighborhood “pod.” Check out the directions and examples here. It even includes a flyer you could print out just to familiarize people with the concept. Paper printouts always ground people. The concept is as follows, from Beacon Mutual Aid’s website:
”As things get harder, we show up for our neighbors. As a neighborhood point person, you’d take on the responsibility of reaching out to your neighbors, checking in on what needs are arising on your block, coordinating a neighborhood group chat or phone tree, and staying in touch with the point people from other neighborhoods for resource pooling. We are trying to build a network of many neighborhood pods across Beacon.”

This may be a new concept for skeptical New Yorkers, who aren’t used to having anyone in their business. Even if you don’t sign up for this, or put in a request, you still could act as a point person for one or two of your neighbors.

Regardless, the Beacon Mutual Aid Group is here for you.

Fill out your request on their website, or if that’s too much, call or email:
beaconmutualaid@gmail.com
(845) 206-9836

Donating To Beacon Mutual Aid

More and more, Beacon Mutual Aid is behind some pretty amazing initiatives. Like Free Groceries at the meal pickups for Beacon City Schools parents. This is huge. It is open for anyone, and targeting those in need. Those of us who have just lost jobs, client projects, and had income freeze, the extra head of lettuce and bag of rice has been a welcome take-home as bills pile up. Says Dara: “All the donations have been used to buy groceries for people who can’t afford them.”

Donate to Beacon Mutual Aid via venmo via mutualaidbeacon, as they tap into farms and other organizations to make this happen. If you don’t have Venmo (as this blogger does not use Venmo) then email them at beaconmutualaid@gmail.com to see how to send a check.

Be well.

FOOD: Free Groceries Available At High School + South Avenue Today (3/25/2020)

Free groceries have been made available for anyone who needs them. This is available to all people, not just people registered in the City of Beacon School District, confirms Helanna Bratman. "Yes! For all people! No age or location restrictions," she said. This is a collaborative effort between Cornell Cooperative Extension, Fareground, Mutual Aid Beacon, Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, Beacon City School District, and Common Ground.

DETAILS:

WHEN: Wednesday, March 25, 2020
LOCATION #1: Beacon High School 10 to 10:30 am
LOCATION #2: South Avenue from 10:30 to 11:30 am
Please only use one location.

Groceries will be pre-bagged and ready for pick up together with BCSD meals. However, for these groceries, you do not need to be registered with the school district.

DELIVERY OPTIONS

Need the groceries delivered? This can be coordinated with you.

Email: mutualaidbeacon@gmail.com or

Call/Text: (845) 288-2559