1199SEIU & Community Partners Host Food Drive To Support Working Families
November 14, 2025
The food drive will support 20 families and local community members experiencing food insecurity as SNAP benefits set to resume following halt during historic government shutdown
Rochester, NY – As the historic government shutdown is set to end, 42 million Americans[1] were without critically needed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to feed their families, including local healthcare workers. Rochester healthcare workers are among those impacted by recent cuts to SNAP. Some service and bedside nursing home, hospital, and homecare workers earn below a living wage[2] and qualify to receive SNAP benefits to help feed their families.
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare workers union in the country will began a food drive across multiple cities and states including Rochester. The goal of the Rochester food drive is to provide 20 working families with a full Thanksgiving meal including all the trimmings. Any additional food collected will be boxed up and provided to community members in need.
1199SEIU and community partners are not just collecting food for holiday meals, but will collect non-perishable items such as rice, pasta, canned goods, feminine and hygiene products, baby formula, and toiletries.
The food drive kicked off yesterday and will run through Thursday, November 20th. There are multiple donation drop off points across the city as well as Medina:
1. 1199SEIU at 259 Monroe Ave, Suite 220
2. Rochester Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, 30 N. Union St, Suite 100
3. Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), 740 Driving Park Ave
4. Second Baptist Church, 957 George Street, Mumford, NY 14511
5. Medina Memorial Hospital, 200 Ohio St, Medina NY 14103
Thanksgiving baskets and boxes to local healthcare worker families will be distributed shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday. For more information on how to donate, please call 585-244-0830.
On background:
While two federal judges[3] have ordered SNAP to be fully funded, it’s uncertain whether the current administration in Washington will comply with the order to do so or how long those funds will last to support people experiencing food insecurity.
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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.