LOCALadk Magazine

comparison to the lull of the winter, seasonal unemployment is high in the Adirondacks. "Lake Placid is a town of haves and have-nots. People with two houses and people with two jobs," comments a volunteer while freshening the coffee. The network of volunteerism runs deep in the Adirondacks and it's very common to see one program helping another. For example, two large boxes of outdoor gear sit in the back of the dining room next to the piano. Kaysie Kyler, the youth leader of the Adirondack Community Church, donated them after organizing a gear drive for the community as part of the Church's Monthly Mission. "There's more need than people know about," Kyler explains. "Several people told me it was a life saver for them." As mentioned previously, The Community Lunch Program in Lake Placid can be traced back to The Community Lunch Box Program, run out of St. Luke's in Saranac Lake. Started 22 years ago by Julia Caguiat as a project for the church, it runs every Monday and Thursday, providing free lunches from 11:30am to 12:30pm. The program reaches approximately 40 to 50 people with each meal. The format used is the same as the Community Lunch Program in Lake Placid. In community development, if you have an idea that works, it spreads. Ron Harris has been involved in the Lunch Box Program since 1995. When asked what improvements could be made on the program, Harris comments, "It would be nice to do it daily. Though, it's hard to get people to volunteer." Especially, the younger generations. Most of the volunteers are retired. This is a common theme among the groups in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake: lack of volunteers, funds and resources. In the past, the Community Lunch Box Program received food donations from Stewart's and Paul Smith's College. Unfortunately, in the United States there are strict legal contraints on who can make or distribute food. Twenty-five to 40 percent of all food grown and processed in the United States will never be consumed.At the same time, one in six Americans are facing issues directly related to hunger. Some of those Americans live in the Adirondacks. Harris' team cleans up after the lunch crowd, and then sits down with plates of food. They talk about the upcoming week, when the weather is going to change, and a moose that got hit out near Plattsburgh. Being part of volunteerism is as important as the service it provides. By nourishing others, you nourish yourself. That's what community is - a cycle of social, physical, nutritional and, spiritual nourishment. And it's

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