Funky Food Drive from Funky Solutions

In the beginning of November, the Federal government had been shut down for over a month, with social programs like food assistance unavailable for millions of people. In Glens Falls, many people were experiencing the stress of food insecurity. Chuck Copenspire and Josh Funk decided to do something. Together, they created the Funky Food Drive to coordinate neighbors, nonprofits, and grocery stores to ensure no one goes hungry.

Josh Funk, the owner of Funky Solutions, a remodeling and construction services company, has built a solid reputation for hard work, craftsmanship, honesty, and solving unusual problems. He shared a story of crafting a hanging scaffold when working on a submarine, despite his supervisor’s impossible claims. No problem is too difficult to solve. The same can be said about Chuck, who had run a food assistance program with Alliance for Positive Health. His incredibly positive attitude and ability to find solutions has cultivated an extensive list of community building work. There is a quote from Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese American poet, tattooed onto his arm that says, “work is love made visible,” which encapsulates his community values.

Josh and Chuck grew up in families that had to get resourceful, with regard to food, on occasion. Chuck recalled an experience on Christmas where a local church in Idaho delivered dinner to their family of three kids and a single, working mother. People came to the Funky Solutions building once a week where volunteers filled a bag, no charge or judgement, in order to ensure food stability. Unexpired, non-perishable food were accepted from the public, and they were working “with farms, grocery stores, and organizations to turn surplus into meals—not landfill.”

Caseworkers, like Alicia from the WAIT House, have made weekly trips with food from Funky Solutions to clients in need. As Chuck told me, the goal was “neighbors helping neighbors”, providing another avenue in a grim situation to ensure no one in our community experiences hunger, stating, “if you tell me you're hungry, I believe you. If you're still hungry next week, I believe you.”

Unfortunately, the food drive concluded at the end of Thanksgiving weekend, but Funky Solutions shared a link to the other food pantries. They were able to give away more than 200 bags of food to local residents in less than a month.

https://www.findhelp.org/food/food-pantry--glens-falls-ny