A Capital Region food bank is celebrating its latest harvest, while expressing concern over its future.
What used to be a freight container is parked at the loading dock of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.
But the Latham distribution center is not using the container for shipping. Instead, the white metal box is now a space to cultivate leafy greens.
Collards, mustard greens, kale, and a vegetable called tatsoi — also known as Chinese flat cabbage — grow out of holes on several parallel, vertical panels in the brightly-lit container.
Liz Gifford, the Food Bank’s Director of Green Energy and Waste Management, gives a tour.
“This stuff here, this is the freshest of the fresh. So this morning I was in here, I harvested some collards, and they will be out at our distribution dock by this afternoon, and maybe even in the hands of somebody who comes to a food pantry by this time tomorrow, definitely,” Gifford said.
Last year, the so-called freight farm produced about 2,100 pounds of greens, and it’s aiming for 2,500 pounds this year.
The freight farm was donated in 2023 by Broadview Federal Credit Union. Regional Food Bank CEO Tom Nardacci says it allows the non-profit to provide fresh vegetables year-round. The Food Bank serves people in 23 counties in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley.
“We buy a lot of food from New York farmers. We have our own farm in Voorheesville where we grow our own produce. So, adding this freight farm made a lot of sense, right? We do some greenhousing at our farm, but we can only do that seasonally,” Nardacci said.
To carry out its mission, the organization relies heavily on state and federal funding. But the uncertainty over federal spending under the second Trump administration is causing some worry.
Nardacci did not give numbers for how much federal funding it receives, but he says that money translates to about 8 million pounds of food. Looking ahead, he expects that amount to be cut by more than half.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in Washington right now. You know, that's front and center for a lot of people, especially nonprofits. You know, for us, we're really concerned about what cuts might mean for us. And so, we just have to find ways to innovate and get access to foods in different ways,” Nardacci said.
The Food Bank on Thursday issued an appeal for donations. Nardacci says the Food Bank has multiple ways to stock its shelves.
“We rescue produce from retail stores. That's a big source of produce for us as we go to back of retail stores, and we find food that is about to get thrown away, and we rescue it, and then we sort it, and then we send it out to neighbors in need. And that's our just-in-time program. We have our own farm where we're growing produce,” Nardacci said.
The Food Bank provides produce, dry goods, dairy, eggs, and meat — anything you can find in the grocery store — to food pantries and other charitable organizations.
Anthony Lewis is a minister with Troy’s Agape Apostolic Church of Deliverance, which operates the Bread of Life Food Pantry. Lewis says the pantry serves more than 1,800 people every month. That means he’s now at the food bank three or four days every week.
“Every agency is growing. Everybody's growing because of the need that's out there. And the freight farm has been nothing short of a blessing to all of us because of the fresh fruit,” Lewis said.
As need for food assistance programs increases, Broadview FCU says it brought in its own freight farm at its Albany headquarters.
Kathy Lanni is Broadview's Chief Community Officer....
“We decided we would bring one into our own location. So at 700 Patroon Creek, we have one of one of these farms. And we said, ‘let's test the market and see if it works. And if we can grow 24/7/365, then others can too,’” Lanni said.
The credit union has also supported freight farms at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area in Troy and the City Mission in Schenectady.
