Venture Churches Food Pantry

Open Tuesdays 9:30-11:30 am and 5:00-7:00 pm


Located at:  First Reformed Church of Bethlehem, 38 Church Road (off of Rt. 9W), Selkirk, NY


We are four local churches that have been serving people in our community for over 30 years.  This ministry comes out of our faith and belief in helping fellow people in need.  We recognize each individual has unique needs.  We treat people with respect, dignity, compassion, kindness and without judgment or discrimination.  We provide a bridge to a variety of resources and cooperate with area businesses and other local food pantries.


If you are interested in volunteering at the Food Pantry or are in need of our services, please call the church office (518) 767-2243


Cash/check donations can be mailed to the church (please indicate pantry donation), placed in the pantry mail slot (outside the church office) or placed in the pantry donation basket. We are also a part of the “Adopt a Pantry” program run by the Regional Food Bank. If donating online is easier for you, visit http://regionalfoodbank.net/adopt-a-program. The webpage allows you to donate directly to our food bank account.

August has been a busy month at the pantry.  We served 104 people in 43 households. This was comprised of 25 children, 51 adults, and 28 senior citizens.  We welcomed 4 new families to the pantry and provided alternative forms of assistance to an additional four families. Our volunteers gave 122 hours of time to serve the pantry and our guests.


Ventures was once again honored to be the beneficiary of fill-a-bag drive run by the Glenmont Market 32 store.  We received more than 70 bags of pantry staples that we were able to share as an additional resource for our guests.  


We were happy to receive a large monetary donation from a local Boy Scout troop. This has allowed us to contribute towards making some needed upgrades, purchase a new dehumidifier as well as replenish some of our supplies.


The high point of our month was our yearly Healthy Pantry Assessment.  The Healthy Food Pantry Initiative is a coordinated effort to improve nutrition and health via the Food Pantries of the Capital District coalition in the Capital Region. Its purpose is to improve pantry environments by providing nutritious food, resources, and support to empower and provide for guests so that they may lead healthier lives. VCFP was thrilled to earn a gold rating for the first time ever.  This will provide us with a 7% increase in our food funding allocations for 2026. This will be a great help in offsetting our increasing food costs.


Collection efforts next month will focus on:

  • canned fruits
  • shampoo/conditioner
  • seasonings and cooking mixes

We greatly appreciate all the support we continue to receive.  It truly takes a village to combat hunger in our community. 

History of our Food Pantry

To see a need and fill it is a good business plan. It is also good church outreach. In the mid 1980's, Arlene Jordan saw that there were families in our area that did not have adequate food. She approached our then Pastor, Al Janssen with a plan to assist those families. Gifts of food and holiday meal kits wer e delivered. And the Food Pantry began in one small room downstairs.


Soon Eleanor Weideman and Ray Hohl became involved. In the early 1990's a group of 4 churches gathered with the goal of doing ecumenical good works. Calling themselves the Venture Churches, they set three goals. They set up a "Clothing Closet " at the Clarksville Reformed Church, they created a schedule of meal support for the Albany Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH). and they offered to help staff and support the food pantry housed at First Reformed Church of Bethlehem.


The food pantry grew to two rooms. One for shopping and the other to store additional goods, Peg Phillips and then Sarah Hafensteiner each took a turn at leading and growing this ministry.


As the needs of the community grew, so did the pantry. Under the leadership of Carol Broderick (with Tricia Kandafer as grant writer) the pantry joined with other pantries and came under the umbrella of the Food Bank of the Greater Northeast.


Our space was renovated by a local Boy Scout as his Eagle project. What had been a single room with three wooden shelves of canned food and dry goods is now several rooms with wire shelf units. Food is organized by nutrition type. Three freezers and two refrigerators offer meat, dairy and fresh produce items. Danielle Riggi took over leadership when Carol retired due to illness.


Our current leadership is a triumvirate of women who bring new skills and energy. Lisa Lafountain, Diane Miller and Jackie Wilkie keep a team of volunteers, several rooms of food, personal and household items and school supplies ready to serve our clients. The latest addition is a stair chair device that makes it easier for those with mobility issues to access the pantry.


Besides our monthly purchases from the food bank, we get produce and dairy items from Hudson Harvest. The Delmar Hannaford donates bakery and deli items every Tuesday. This allows us to share nutritious food with our neighbors. We continue now as The Venture Churches Food Pantry but are staffed by volunteers from many churches and the community.


All of this because one person said "People are hungry. How can we help?"