Ithaca, NY (WBNG Binghamton) - A local retiree gets a warm reception today after 22 years of her humanitarian service.
74-year-old Sara Pines is the creator of Friendship Donations Network.
Staff and volunteers from the group pick up food from supermarkets and farms that would otherwise be thrown away.
They then deliver it to hungry neighbors in Tompkins County.
Pines was joined by family, friends, and those who lives she has touched over the years.
"She helped a lot of people who don't have homes and they don't have enough food to survive and she really made a difference in the world," said Abigail Learner, Pines' granddaughter.
The organization now has 24 programs and is able to feed more than 2,000 people each week.
Pines estimates they save 700,000 pounds of food each year, worth at least $2 million.
Then there's the $45 per ton it would cost to dump the food into a landfill.
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