SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Schenectady Foundation has awarded a $450,000 grant to six non-profit organizations. The funding will be used to reduce hunger and improve access to healthy food.
The Foundation said the new grants will fund projects that strive to change the Schenectady County food system for the better, by creating a fairer, more equitable system where residents can more readily obtain the food they need.
The grants have been awarded to:
- The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York will use its $184,400 grant to establish a pilot program to improve access to food in four underserved areas: Princetown/Rotterdam Junction, Scotia/Glenville, Schenectady’s Stockade/Northside and the city’s Mont Pleasant Neighborhood
- Schenectady Community Ministries will partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Schenectady City School District and the Schenectady ARC to use their $100,600 grant on a new project that aims to combat the root causes of food insecurity by working directly with lower-income families
- Messiah Lutheran Church in Rotterdam will use its $75,000 grant to expand its food pantry
- The Food Pantries for the Capital District will use its $50,000 grant to continue to operate its Food Access Referral Line Program
- Capital Roots will use its $20,000 grant establish a new Capital Region Food Policy Council
- The Schenectady Greenmarket will use its $20,000 grant to establish a new food box program
“Our experience during the pandemic made it crystal clear that we needed to urgently and
smartly make access to healthy food our top priority,” said Robert Carreau, executive director of
The Schenectady Foundation. “This grant program is not just about hunger, and giving out more
boxes of food. It’s about providing families with access, choice, compassion and healthy
options.”
The Foundation has already awarding nearly $600,000 to address food insecurity during the past two years and coordinated a food delivery program for vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
