Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As corrections officers across New York continue their strikes, and protest for better working conditions at state-run facilities, local businesses in communities housing these prisons are stepping up in support of their corrections officers.
In the Town of Alden, home of Wende Correctional Facility, a pair of businesses are stepping up to the plate for their corrections officers.
At Alden Bakery and Cafe, their goal is to help those on the picket lines outside the facilities stay warm.
"There's been people who've been bringing water, hand warmers, gloves. We've been providing coffee. We actually have a special right now, if you buy a pot of coffee, we donate a pot of coffee. The proceeds go towards everything that they're working for, and it keeps them warm in these cold conditions," said Hannah Phelps, manager at Alden Bakery and Cafe on Broadway. "And it's great to see how many people have come forward, just in Alden alone. We have so many people who have been great towards donating."
Phelps says donations have been going towards corrections officers at Wende Correctional, but also at Attica Correctional, Wyoming Correctional, and they're working with people to help those at Collins Correctional as well.
A large number of customers at Alden Bakery and Cafe are corrections officers, or those who have families who are involved with corrections in the region.
"The community understands where they're coming from. They understand how it impacts their families, and the real strain it puts on just a single family member alone. To hear some of the things they've been going through, it's unfortunate," Phelps said with WBEN.
As for the corrections officers, Phelps says they are all thankful for their assistance, and for getting the public together to help any way possible.
"A lot of people have been very grateful, they can't thank us enough," she said. "There's been multiple businesses, multiple people who have been there. There's been people driving up and handing things to the corrections officers themselves when they're outside. These men are on rotations, these men are constantly outside. Whether it's 50-to-100 or over 400 people, depending on what location you're talking about, I know they're extremely happy to see friends, family, come together, people they know, and extremely grateful to know that they're not alone in this."
Alden Bakery and Cafe will continue to take donations, whether it'd be goods for the corrections officers or monetary donations that will go towards whatever supplies they may need.
"I know firewood is a main essential for a lot of these places right now, being outside and they have their barrels and whatnot. And another big thing is just to make sure they get any kind of beverage and easy food," Phelps said. "I don't know if a lot of places are doing sign up sheets for who's going to do food and when, but that would be a great idea, if people communicate and just say, 'Hey, we will support and do this for this day, and we will support and do this for another day.' Just to give them options and variety, and let them know that we're going to be there every step of the way."
Also helping out and contributing for corrections officers this week has been Town Line Pizzeria, also located on Broadway in Alden.
Co-owner Kristi Curran says what started as sending over some sheet pizzas on the first day of the strike has evolved into a greater effort with help from the community.
"We sent out a post to all of our customers on Facebook and Instagram, just letting them know what we were doing and if they wanted to contribute any donations, we would handle the deliveries and whatnot for them. We have received a whole bunch of phone calls, people stopping in, people ordering all kinds of food for them, and we've just been delivering that two, three, four times a day," said Curran in an interview with WBEN.
While Curran admits she has lost count of how many people have made donations this week, she estimates it's been close to 100 people.
"Some want to make monetary donations, so we've just put orders together for them. And some are just stopping by and picking out what they want to have delivered. We've had a number of people also pick up food for them and run it over there to them," Curran said.
"Everybody appreciates everything that they do. I think everybody sees that they're struggling, and really trying to get better working conditions for themselves."
Like Alden Bakery and Cafe, the corrections family in Alden is a huge source of business for Town Line Pizza.
"We actually deliver food to them two, three times a day anyways to the prison there. So they're a huge part of our business. We support them, and they support us," Curran said.
For those who'd like to donate through Town Line Pizzeria, Curran says you can either call the pizzeria or stop by, and they'll help put together orders and send it over to the corrections officers on the picket line.
In the Town of Collins, Peace of the Pie, a local bakery, cafe and restaurant, also did their part on Wednesday to contribute to the corrections officers striking outside the Collins Correctional Facility just up the road.
"We took down coffee and muffins and breakfast burritos, and then later in the day, we took down some soups as well," said owner Paula Jeanniton with WBEN. "We have family and friends, and lots of loyal customers that are corrections officers and work within the prison system, so we just wanted to show our support for them and help in the way that we could."
For a lot of the local families Peace of the Pie serves, corrections is their livelihood.
"We had two prison systems here: We had Gowanda and Collins, and Gowanda closed a couple of years ago, and it was a big hit to our local economy," Jeanniton explained. "Lots of COs were displaced or had to relocate or find new jobs, or get placed within the other system that still exists here."
Jeanniton knows just how big of a deal this ongoing strike is for the corrections officers, their families and the community.
"These people are working, and their family members can't get a hold of them to know if they're OK? We just need it to be a safer system for the whole community," she said.
Jeanniton adds Peace of the Pie will continue to plan donations of food and other goods for the corrections officers on strike for as long as the strike lasts.
"We were told that they had a lot of donations yesterday, so we're going to hold off for a couple of days, just so they can use resources that they have now. And then we'll be there for when those get depleted," Jeanniton noted.