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.

We have been very busy at the pantry during the month of September. We served 128 people in 55 households. This included 28 children, 64 adults, and 36 senior citizens. We welcomed 6 new families to the pantry and provided alternative forms of assistance to 2 families.


Our wonderful volunteers gave more than 145 hours of their time to serve our guests and the pantry. We could not do this work without them. If you have an interest in volunteering to help us feed neighbors in our community, please reach out.


Recently, there has been a decrease in both the type, and amount, of food available for purchase at the Regional Food Bank. There has also been an increase in the cost of the foods that are available. We are especially grateful for the food and monetary donations we receive from our donors as it is helping offset the growing struggle to provide appropriate levels of assistance to our guests.


Ventures Pantry was able to increase our collaboration with the Youth Group from the First Reformed Church of Bethlehem this month. Under the guidance of Pastor Jenn, the children completed a large cleaning project for us. They also created cards with messages of hope that we will be including in our Thanksgiving basket giveaway. We have plans to continue working together and it is inspiring to see the future generation of volunteers being shaped by their experience.


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


- canned proteins

- soups

- 100% juice


As always, we are so grateful for all the support we receive from our community. Together we are fighting food insecurity in our local neighborhoods. We couldn’t do this work without you and we’re making a real impact. 

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?"