BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County announced Monday that three local organizations received $1.8 million in year-end COVID-19 relief funding.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the funds were distributed to SUNY Erie, the Buffalo Zoo and FeedMore WNY.
“Extending this funding to these organizations will help them to continue operations despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented,” Poloncarz said. “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, and while it is late in the year it’s not too late to help. The Zoo, SUNY Erie and FeedMore WNY will put this funding to good use.”
FeedMore WNY spokesperson Catherine Shick said the funding was needed as the demand for nutritious food skyrocketed in 2020. The organization distributed 12 million meals in 2019. Shick said this year they served 16 million.
"Since March, when the WNY community began to really feel the effects of COVID-19, thousands more community members have been reaching out for food assistance," Shick said.
FeedMore WNY received $677,563.73 to cover emergency food distribution, additional staff hired and personal protective equipment (PPE) costs.
"It will help us reimburse some of those food costs, making sure we can continue to distribute food in the weeks and months to come and, of course, helping us in other areas like personal protective equipment," Shick said.
Norah Fletchall, the President of the Buffalo Zoo, said when you factor in being closed for four months, the cost of animal care without visitors, and reopening at reduced capacity, the zoo lost $4 million in revenue in 2020.
"This infusion of dollars will help us begin a very long process to recover," Fletchall said. "This is just one step in what will be a multi-year recovery process for the zoo."
The Buffalo Zoo received $363,979.97 for COVID-related improvements and staffing changes that allowed the zoo to reopen.
"That support from the county helped offset the additional staff that we needed to hire in order to maintain a clean and safe environment for our guests, our staff and our animals when we did reopen," Fletchall said.
SUNY Erie received $846,498 for COVID-19 control measures by New York State including mass testing of all students and faculty.