A MAJOR MILESTONE

On a brisk February morning, 60 volunteers stood in the chilly parking lot of Macedonia Baptist Church in Albany. At best, the temperature peaked into the 20s. But hats, gloves and high spirits were aplenty from the crowd who spent their morning distributing boxes of food to local residents.

On Feb. 15, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany - in partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, CDPHP and the Capital District Area Labor Federation - was holding the 200th drive-through food pantry organized by the non-profit since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

The milestone event, and the ones that will follow the rest of the month, will help keep up with the growing needs of the community.

“It’s fortunate but unfortunate,” said Vincent W. Colonno, CEO of Catholic Charities. “The need is there, and I thought it would be gone by now, but it doesn’t want to wane. The fortunate piece is we have a very giving community and we are able to get the resources to do this, and thank God we’re able to do it.” 

In nearly two years, the initiative – a part of Catholic Charities’ CC MOVE – has distributed over 3.8 million pounds of food, serving an estimated 375,000 people across 119,000 households. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizations coordinated one distribution a month, serving around 300 households at each. Now, Catholic Charities is regularly distributing food to more than 600 families in a single day at each of the roughly eight monthly food drops.

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ, director of community partnerships for Catholic Charities, noted that even as COVID-19 cases drop in the area, the aftereffects of the pandemic are still prevalent. Inflation in the U.S. climbed to its highest level in 40 years at the end of 2021, and price increases are becoming more widespread. 

“We’re certainly experiencing it with inflation and our heating bills,” Sister Betsy said. “I spent more money when I went to the grocery store yesterday than I did in the longest time. I don’t spend a lot of money, but I was like, ‘Wow. That’s real.’ And that’s going on for people.”

Even before the food drop began, cars could be seen lined down the side streets off Macedonia Baptist Church all the way over to Central Avenue, where the line continued on the shoulder of the busy road. Volunteers distributed around 560 boxes of food to cars before running out of supplies around 10:20 a.m., just an hour shy of when they started. It was one of the first drives where rows of cars were still waiting when supplies ran out.

“It’s heartbreaking,” one volunteer remarked. 

“There’s a whole shift taking place and there are people really struggling,” said Molly Nicol, CEO of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. “Add to that the (rising) cost of fuel and the cost of groceries, for someone who’s already living very close to the edge, now the bottom’s dropping out. So we’re just here to help.”

Nicol added that coupled with supply chain issues and a lack of workers to help get food to stores, food pantries are struggling to help families fill in the gaps. 

“Our challenge right now at the Food Bank, our main challenge, is that we can’t get a supply of certain products, especially meat,” Nicol said. “Meat is in short supply all across the country but it really affects the food banks. We’re supplementing with eggs, with cheese, with beans and other protein sources … so we’re just trying to get all the products to the folks in need.”

Sister Betsy added that this recovery is happening without any federal aid that was previously provided during the beginning of the pandemic: “There was some extra money and then the extra isn’t (there) anymore, and so it’s like how do I put all these pieces back together?”

Nicol predicts that the economic effects of COVID-19 are going to last for a few more years. In the meantime, Catholic Charities’ volunteers are stepping up to make sure food gets to those in need. 

“The volunteers are the best,” Sister Betsy said. “They’re the best in the world. I’ve worked with volunteers my whole life and this is a freezing cold day and despite that we have 60 volunteers out here today, just very happy to be out here and doing what they can.”

Catholic Charities has six additional food distributions scheduled at this time: 

Feb. 17: Centro Civico 143 E. Main Street, Amsterdam at 9:30 a.m.

Feb. 22: Watervliet High School 1245 Hillside Drive, Watervliet at 9:30 a.m.

Feb. 24: Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School, 2025 Rte 9W, Ravena at 10 a.m. 

Feb. 25: 833 Broadway 833 Broadway Parking Lot, Albany at 9:30 a.m.

Feb 28: 230 Green Street 230 Green Street, Albany at 9:30 a.m.

March 1: Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church 119 Reid Street, Fort Plain at 10 a.m.

About Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany     

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany is one of the largest, private social services organizations in the region. Serving 14 counties around the Capital District across some 10,000 square miles, Catholic Charities serves and empowers all persons in need, regardless of race, creed, religion, or lifestyle, as well as advocates for a just society and collaborates with women and men of good will. Last year, approximately 100,000 people turned to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany for assistance. Through the generous support of donors and the community, we are able to assist the poor and vulnerable with housing, food, emergency assistance, disabilities services, senior services, and much more.