Yorktown officials signed off on a food security initiative to keep up with high demand.

As some people headed back to work, the demand for food lessened a bit. But food pantries like Saint Mary’s Church in Mohegan Lake are preparing for its next challenge, an uptick in need as school begins to reopen.

"We're prepared that we're going to be doing this for at least another six months,” says church member Cynthia Secor-Smith.

Secor Smith says running the pantry has become equivalent to a full-time job. "We went from basically working Friday afternoons to set up and Saturday mornings to distribute the food to a seven-day-a-week operation."

News 12 is told hours will be longer in the fall as some parents are still out of work and students who rely on school food take classes remotely.

Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater is thrilled to welcome the task force, saying in part, “They can provide really great insight for the town to make sure that as town leaders, we're doing everything we can to support and help our most vulnerable neighbors."

A recent report from United Way of Westchester and Putnam states nearly one-third of Hudson Valley households were one emergency away from financial ruin prior to the pandemic.

Town officials are trying to get ahead of the unexpected given the new information from the report.