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.

We’re looking for caring individuals who can commit just 2 hours a month to help serve our community. The pantry operates on Tuesdays, with two available shifts:

  • Morning: 9:30–11:30 AM
  • Evening:  5:00–7:00 PM

You only need to serve one shift per month—unless you’d like to volunteer more often! If you're interested or have any questions, please contact Diane Miller, our Volunteer Coordinator.

Email: pdmiller93@gmail.com or 518-488-8007 call or text.

October presented with a significant increase in need at the pantry. We served 140 people in 62 households. This included 28 children, 77 adults, and 35 senior citizens. There was a dramatic rise in new families being welcomed for a total of 16!

 

Our faithful volunteers gave 128 hours of time to serve our guests and the pantry.


We have begun our yearly partnership with HMA Contracting who provide us with Thanksgiving baskets for the members of our community. Registration began in October and HMA was able to commit to increasing the amount of their support to match our increasing need. We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous donation, and effort, on their part.


Due to the recent changes in available support for families facing food insecurity, we are anticipating a significant escalation in community needs. According to the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Services, there are almost 3 million recipients of SNAP in New York State. Most SNAP recipients in our districts are children (34%), the elderly (15%), and the non-elderly disabled (12%). The majority of localized SNAP recipients do not utilize a food pantry. This is quite likely to change given the current crisis. We are committed to assisting all who need us. Towards that end, we are actively pursuing additional sources of assistance and increasing our collaboration efforts to meet the growing demand.


Our collection efforts for the month of November will focus on: 

  • canned potatoes
  • canned proteins
  • household cleaning and personal care items

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?"