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When Holy Trinity parish in Cohoes opened its food pantry in the early 1990s, "it was a small operation in the basement of the rectory," said Marianne Basila.

The pantry's manager since 1993, she remembered that, in those early days, "we really just had occasional calls" requesting food. Ms. Basila would pack the bags of food by herself.

In 2005, the food pantry was moved to the parish center, allowing for more people to be served. By 2012, it had regular hours of operation.

"We were open two days a week with about 20 volunteers," Ms. Basila told The Evangelist. At that point, the pantry was serving about 55 families a month, and "the demand wasn't being met."

She noted that, at one point Cohoes -- whose population is about 16,000 people -- had five food pantries. The city is now down to only three.

Grants from the Regional Food Bank in both 2014 and 2015 enabled Holy Trinity's food pantry to be moved, last month, to a larger, more convenient room in the parish center, which was once a school.

The move "took a lot of hands," said Ms. Basila. Everything was accomplished in just one week to make sure the pantry was ready for the holiday rush.

Currently, the food pantry is serving about 70 families a month. Now that the pantry is in a more accessible space, volunteers said they won't be surprised if that number increases in the coming year.

The Holy Trinity pantry shares information with the city's two other food pantries to reach more people in need, said Sandy Cornwell, the staff liaison.

Ms. Cornwell is also the parish nurse. She said that working in the food pantry gives her a better perspective on the community's needs. She also assists with a free school lunch program and passes out information on nutrition.

Donations for Holy Trinity's food pantry come from parishioners, the Boy Scouts, the Cohoes School District and community organizations.

"The amazing thing is, the food donations have kept up with the need as it rises," said Ms. Basila. "The generosity of the people has just been tremendous."

The manager used to worry that there wouldn't be enough space or resources for the patrons of the food pantry.

"I've stopped worrying," she said. "The need is always met."[[In-content Ad]]

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