The Schenectady City School District is expanding its food distribution efforts.
All of the district’s 11 elementary schools now have a food pantry, open to students and their families. It’s a shift away from an earlier backpack program, where food was sent home every week. Speaking at Keane Elementary School Wednesday, Kayla Ambesi, the District’s Supervisor of Community Schools, says the program has been a boon.
“We have moved to a more equitable system or any family that has a student in this Schenectady city school district can access a school-based food pantry, take whatever they need to feed their entire family,” Ambesi said.
Ambesi says the program, which had a soft launch in October 2023, has served about twice as many children and nearly 230 adults who were not supported by previous efforts. The program is backed by community organizations, including the Regional Food Bank, the Schenectady Foundation, and others.
MVP Healthcare vice president for community engagement Ellen Sax says the reinvented program improves on previous efforts.
“We said we can do better. And over the years, we did better. we were serving prior to the pandemic, almost 1000 children in the school district. But we realized is who was making the decision as to who was getting the food, and what kind of food were they getting? And did it make a difference to them. And it was only in the elementary school. So we weren't looking at middle school and high school, which obviously, there are needs,” Sax said.
To develop this iteration, Sax says a group of community interests, also including the Schenectady Foundation, United Way, the City Mission of Schenectady, and Broadview Credit Union, met over a period of seven months.
Betsy Dickson, the Regional Food Bank’s Senior Director of Children’s Programs, says cultural sensitivity was a top goal.
“It's not an ‘ask to go to a different facility outside of the normal school day,’ kids are coming to school to learn, they shouldn't have to come to school hungry or come to school and be worried about where their next meal will come from. So this initiative is really about meeting children where they are, acknowledging their diverse backgrounds, and making sure that they have what they need in order to grow and thrive,” Dickson said.
Schenectady already has mobile food pantries as well. Amaury Tañón-Santos is Executive Director and CEO of Schenectady Community Ministries. He says the expansion will address the district’s food insecurity, which was worsened by the pandemic, especially now that related federal aid is waning.
“In 2023, we saw a 111% increase in services. Not only were we now at eight elementary schools, we saw 3339 visits. That’s representing groceries for 150,255 meals,” Tañón-Santos said.
The pantries also provide hygiene products.
Ryan Williams is Community Schools Coordinator for Van Corlaer Elementary in the Bellevue neighborhood of Rotterdam and went to Schenectady schools.
“There’s always a stigma behind needs, and, you know, wanting to go to a food truck for food and, and maybe the embarrassment or whatever it is that a family is feeling. And I've seen that kind of go away, families are understanding their need, and they're understanding that we're here to help,” Williams said.
Six schools are being used as collection sites.
Dr. Carlos Cotto is the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Innovation, Equity, and Engagement. He says the district’s Community Schools model makes this program possible.
“Ultimately, the goal is that as families come into the space, they're able to get all of what they need. And it's the relationships like this here that we have with the community. If we can't provide those supports, then we look to connect to those partners to make sure that those supports are provided,” Cotto said.
Other food pantries in the district can be found at Mont Pleasant Middle School and Schenectady High School.
More information about the food pantries can found here.
