2025 GRANTS 

Columbia County Recovery Kitchen: $7,500 for Preschoolers and Parents: Cooking & Learning Together. Expanding nutrition education program to two additional sites the program will serve thirty families, working with HeadStart and Cornell Cooperative Extension Service. Families meet for two-hour cooking classes once per month and are provided with recipes and all the ingredients to prepare healthy meals at home together.  
 
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement: $7,500 for Comida Para La Gente-Food for the People. This progam delivers 60 fresh food boxes and 36 culturally desirable meals weekly to vulnerable populations, including some rural families and immigrants. CCSM/CPLG is also increasing farm partnerships with QTBIPOC and women-owned farms, and works with Farm Access Partners (FAPs) in Hudson Valley. Their goal is to source 80% of their produce from these partnerships. 

Columbia Opportunities, Inc.: $7,500 for Feed Columbia Food Pantry. Ninety-five percent of those served report receiving SNAP and temporary assistance benefits, which have been reduced. In addition to receiving food, participants are linked to other mainstream benefits and food resources. 

Ghent Food Pantry Inc.: $1,500 for the Veggie Connect program to serve 80 households per month. This program will augment the existing food supply from the regional food bank with locally grown, certified organic vegetables from MX Morningstar Farm in Claverack. All produce is USDA-NOP certified organic by NOFA-NY and ROP Certified. ROP Certified produce is certified by the Real Organic Project (ROP), a farmer-led movement that aims to distinguish soil-grown and pasture-raised products. ROP certification is an add-on to the USDA Certified Organic Program. 

Hudson Sloop Club, Farm to River: $5,000 for Common Hands Farm Partnership with Waterfront Wednesdays. A weekly farmers’ market at centrally located, popular community gathering will provide access to fresh, locally grown produce for low-income residents, and support local farmers and food vendors. 

Long Table Harvest: $5,500 for The Gleaning Program, in its tenth year. TGP works with over 60 farms and 35 distribution sites to be a consistent and reliable source of high quality, fresh food for lower-income residents. 

Philmont Public Library/Village of Philmont: $2,500 for the Philmont Free Fridge which is housed inside the library and assisted by a community group, Purpose Pantry. As a community hub, the library’s mission encompasses responding to local needs, including food security. Fridge food is available for low-income and financially stressed residents, which includes seniors at a nearby apartment building and children who visit after school. 

Rock Solid Church: $5,000 for Feed the Need - RSC Food Pantry to purchase more food and augment operating expenses. RSC is seeking to establish new relationships and partnerships with local farms. The mission is to continue to expand operations capacity to serve residents experiencing food insecurity and economic instability. 

Rock Steady Farm and Flowers: $5,000 for Rock Steady Farm and Ancramdale Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fresh Food Distribution. The program will provide full CSA shares free of cost to 16 families in Columbia County all season via ANHN’s weekly mobile food pantry delivery program. Rock Steady Farm is a queer and trans led multiracial worker cooperative and nonprofit focused on creating a more equitable food system. They grow culturally meaningful nutritious foods and train QTBIPOC farmers in sustainable farming and land stewardship practices in their flagship Pollinate! program. 
 
Sky High Farm: $7,500 for Food Access Program: Fresh Eggs & Chicken. This program directly addresses issues of nutrition, food security and community health in the context of the current bird flu epidemic. Fresh eggs and chicken will be provided to low-income individuals and families in primarily rural locales. With CDC and USDA guidance, Sky High is implementing new biosecurity protocols to be able to provide a steady and safe supply of fresh eggs and chickens. Grant funding will cover expenses for new chicks, processing fees, isolated water drinkers, and fencing equipment to comply with the protocol. 

Taghkanic Climate Smart Committee: $2,500 for the Taghkanic Free Community Fridge. 
In operation since 2022, this program seeks to reduce food insecurity and food waste, and to build a stronger, more connected community. Barriers to food access are reduced; there is no eligibility process or registration required. The fridge provides fresh produce, groceries and pantry goods to the community, and partners with the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen for fresh prepared meals 3 times a week. The fridge, located next to Taghkanic Town Hall, is open 24/7 and needs to be restocked daily. 

The Freedom Food Alliance Inc.: $5,000 for Sweet Freedom Farm Providing Fresh Food Access and Food Sovereignty in Columbia County. Sweet Freedom is a Black-led farm committed to regenerative agriculture, with a dual focus on immediate food access and long-term community empowerment. They donate fresh produce throughout the growing season to local food access organizations. In addition, their Seedling Distribution program provides seeds, gardening supplies, education and technical assistance to families who wish to cultivate their own garden plots. Community members served are new immigrants, longtime Columbia County residents, young people, and individuals impacted by the prison industrial complex.

Valatie Ecumenical Food Pantry Inc.: $2,500 for Valatie Ecumenical Food Pantry Assistance in Fighting Food Insecurity for purchase of a new freezer and fridge to store more fresh foods for clients. In 2024 the pantry served 1260 households, which includes 638 senior citizens and 1,770 children. The pantry, located at the First Presbyterian Church in Valatie, has increased the number of residents served by more than 69% over the past five years.