Hillside Food Outreach is hosting the Lights of Hope Cuomo Bridge Lighting Event in Tarrytown

The Governor Mario Cuomo pod shine in warm orange light this week for a great cause. For the second year, Hillside Food Outreach hosted the Lights of Hope bridge lighting event at the Sailhouse in Tarrytown on Thursday.

The bridge was lit orange, the symbolic color for hunger awareness, during a special viewing party for Food aid on the hill.

The event, one of Hillside’s largest annual fundraisers, supports the non-profit organization’s mission to deliver nutritious, high-quality food to those who need it most.

Kathy Purdy, founder and director of Hillside Food Outreach, said the group provides needed food to people who can’t get to food pantries, including those with special diets.

The group was also there “to honor Westchester County,” Purdy said, “for its tremendous support of the work that we do.”

right Hillside websitethe group makes 1,800 deliveries a month to 2,000 families in Westchester and Putnam counties, as well as Fairfield, Conn., and has made 500,000 such deliveries since 2002.

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In addition to sourcing donated food and supplies, Hillside purchases food from local farms to provide fresh produce to those in need.

How to help Hillside Food Outreach

Hillside Food Outreach is always looking for Hunger Heroes – supporters who can help fight hunger in the Lower Hudson Valley community.

There are a lot of options when it comes to helping out. You can choose to donate $10 per month (which can feed someone for two weeks), donate certain supplies or food, or even volunteer.

Hillside needs the following donations of supplies:

Food for diabetics

• Unsweetened cereals (including bran, oatmeal, shredded wheat)

• Salt-free products and sugar-free foods

Healthy staples

• Low-salt/no-salt preserves

Baby supplies

Personal hygiene

To learn more about how you can help Hillside Food Outreach, check out their website: hillsidefoodoutreach.org.

This article originally appeared on the Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New York Gov. Mario Cuomo’s bridge glows orange for hunger awareness