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Capital Region food pantries distribute food to families in need

On the eve of the holidays, food pantries in the Capital Region are striving to provide food to families in need.

On Monday morning, cars are parked five lanes wide in the parking lot and down the block, waiting to pick up boxes or bags of supplemental and emergency food at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Albany.

The Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and Capital District Area Labor Federation, among other organizations, teamed up to address food insecurity in the Capital Region.

Capital District Area Labor Federation Executive Director Mark Emanatian says a previous food distribution event ended early because there was too much demand.

"The other day, we did one. And we ran out of food at 10 minutes after 10 (a.m.) and we turned away about 15 cars are in line and as I was leaving other cars were coming in," he said.

Emanatian thinks demand is up because of inflation and the rising cost of living and child care.

The drive-thru is new to maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19. On Monday, volunteers were giving out a bag of potatoes, cereal, oranges and bananas and a choice of beef or chicken. Volunteers were also handing out frozen meals along with cheese, beans and other odds and ends.

“Nobody's coming in line and standing around for filet mignon and lobster tails, but it's good," he said. "You could get a couple good meals and a few other things and it augments their food. If the food runs out, like if USDA and Nourish New York say ‘We're stopping doing this,’ or the volunteers stopped coming. I don't know what we'll do.”

Arbor Hill resident P.H. Winfrey says the food distribution is a great way to help to his community:

"Well, I think It helps a lot. helps me a lot. I come back here about every weekend when they’re giving out. It helps pretty good," Winfrey said.

West Hill resident Sheila Farmer says the food is especially helpful during the holidays.

“I love it. It's nice. I come every month. I love coming up here. It’s a help for my family. It's me and I have somebody else that I'm bringing home to a basket for and stuff like that," she said.

Monday’s distribution got off to a delayed start when a volunteer collapsed and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The emergency made the wait even longer for some.

Emanatian says when the pandemic began, many food pantries in rural areas closed down. The group has four more events planned before the new year.

“We tried to reinforce the food pantries, but the food pantries have limited space and so you can't put six more freezers in them. The food pantries, some of them are doing double what they did before the pandemic. All of them are doing more than what they did before the pandemic," he said.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced an additional $230 million dollars for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, totaling more than $2.4 billion in funding for 2021. The Democrat also says the state’s Restaurant Resiliency Program will be delivering 200,000 meals to New Yorkers in need through the end of the holiday.