STEPPING UP!

A volunteer helps load a carton of eggs into a bag for a guest visiting the newly remodeled St. Augustine Food Pantry on Sept. 2. (Emily Benson photos)

New York State Assemblymember John T. McDonald III held two peppers in the air: “Red or green?” he asked. The woman in front of him laughed, and he dropped the vegetables into her bag. 

It was one of the first few days food was distributed at the newly relocated St. Augustine’s Food Pantry in Lansingburgh — and a special day at that. 

McDonald, along with Troy Mayor Carmella R. Mantello and Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank, joined pantry volunteers to help distribute food on Sept. 2. It was the first of many Farm Fresh Stands provided by The Regional Food Bank, where locally grown fruits and vegetables were available for those in need.

Afterward, McDonald presented the Regional Food Bank with a $35,000 check, with $10,000 going directly to the St. Augustine Food Pantry. The funds will go toward purchasing food, as well as infrastructure and operational costs.  

“Lansingburgh has become a place where we have more people in need of food,” said Cathy Conroy, coordinator for the St. Augustine Food Pantry. 

New York State Assemblymember John T. McDonald III hands out vegetables. Later, McDonald presented the Regional Food Bank with a $35,000 check, with $10,000 of the funds going directly to the parish's new pantry. (Emily Benson photo)

Conroy has volunteered at the food pantry since the mid-’70s. On average, the pantry sees around 55-60 people a week. When it first opened, operating out of the parish rectory, a handful of attendees was normal.

“When we first started forever ago, we’d be sitting there on Saturday morning, and if you had three people, it was a lot,” she said. “Now the population has changed in the area.”

According to the Regional Food Bank, one in four residents in Lansingburgh experience food insecurity, a rate much higher than the food bank’s 23-county service area. In the Capital Region, one in eight residents experience food insecurity.

In 2024, the Regional Food Bank distributed 186,521 pounds of food to Lansingburgh food pantries/ soup kitchens, which equaled 155,434 meals. In 2025, that number jumped, to 269,608 pounds, which equaled 224,673 meals.

Despite the increased efforts, the current annual meal gap — the missing number of meals that people facing hunger need but cannot afford or buy —  in Lansingburgh is 55,045.

Father Martin Kordel, parish priest of St. Augustine, felt the growing need and began looking into a pantry expansion. Between a plethora of helping hands — volunteers at the Ancient Order of Hibernians, parish volunteers, and donations from The McCarthy Charities and The Home Depot — the church converted an old three-car garage on the property into the new pantry space.  

“There are a lot of resources in Troy, but up in the ’Burgh, we try to push a little bit more,” McDonald said. “I’m glad that St. Augustine’s was able to, as part of their mission, step up.”