Our Community Initiatives
2023 Grant-making Concludes with $675,000 for a Food-Secure Schenectady
The Schenectady Foundation topped off its 2023 grant-making with six new commitments to make Schenectady County residents more food-secure, totaling $675,000. In all, the Foundation granted more than $1.6 million this year.
“We are deeply committed to improving food security for residents of our community,” said Robert Carreau, executive director of The Schenectady Foundation. “Over just the past three years we’ve invested $1.7 million toward improving and sustaining our pantry system, and pursuing innovative ways to change our local food system. Our vision of a food-secure Schenectady requires us to see this as a long-term commitment, where we engage community partners in working collaboratively and for greater impact.”
The Equitable Access to Healthy Food grants are:
- Regional Food Bank of NENY will receive $200,000 to ensure that pantries are regularly stocked with foods that appeal to the broad diversity of cultures in Schenectady County.
- SUNY Schenectady was granted $43,000 to provide refrigerated lockers to store food packages for their student pantry clients.
- Luken Daily Bread Food Pantry was supported with $50,000 to procure enough food to enable the pantry to be open every Saturday.
- Schenectady Community Ministries (SiCM) received $100,000 to increase their warehouse space.
- Cornell Cooperative Extension will continue its partnership called Healthy Living 360 with a grant of $182,000.
- The Food Pantries for the Capital District will utilize a $100,000 grant to deliver a multi-pronged approach to ensuring that Schenectady County pantries are well-served and work in coordination.
For full details on these grants, click here.