Mark Quandt & the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.
The Food Bankwas founded in 1982 by a group of foodpantry coordinators and anti-hunger advocates. Originally, the Food Bank occupied space ina commercial warehouse and distributed 400,000 pounds of foodin its firstyear. Today, it
occupies its own 62,000
square footwarehouseand
distributes nearly 50 times that amount
of food, up to 20 millionpounds each
year.
The RFB collects donations of food
from the food industry that is perfectly
good to eat but cannot be sold (overproduced
product, production flaws, closeto-
code items, etc.), anddistributes
thisfood to over 1000 member organizations,
including 350 food pantries, 75
soup kitchens, 55 homeless shelters, and
hundreds of other programs such as low-income day-care, senior, and youth centers. The Regional Food Bank is a
member of America’s Second Harvest,
and one of eight food banks in NYS.
“Unfortunately, the Food Bank sees the
need for its services increase incrementally
each year,” said Mark Quandt,
Executive Director. “A low-level retail
job is enough to put someone into poverty,
depending on family size,’ he said.
“If the refrigerator breaks, they can’t afford
food,’ added Quandt, who has been
with the Food Bank for nearly twentyfive
years.
The Food Bank runs a number of programs
intended to help the hungry
peoplein the RFB’s 23-county service
area. The Moveable Feast program
brings in donations of prepared and perishable
foods from grocery stores and
restaurants. This program provides
500,000 lbs of extra food yearly. The
Extra Helpings program allows individuals
to pay a relatively small amount of
money for a much greater value in extra<
food items.
The Regional Food Bank has also
founded three Kids’ Cafes in Albany,
Troy, and Schenectady. These are special
soup kitchens designed to serve
needy children and to provide them with
a safe place to gather.
TheFoodBank also serves as a distributor
of state HPNAP support for food
pantries, soup kitchens, and
shelters.Itprovidesthe HPNAP Food
Grant to eligibleprograms, which covers<
the usual handling fee charged by
theFood Bank, andalso provides eligible
agencies withOperations Support
Project grants to cover other costs.
In a recent Hunger Study, 94% of the
Food Bank’s member agencies said
elimination of the Food Bank would have
a devastating or significant impact on
their operations and their ability to feed
those who turn to them for help. Quite
simply, many people would go hungry if
not for the Regional Food Bank.
In addition to distributing food to meet
emergency needs, the Regional Food
Bank works in partnership with
HANNYS and other organizations to
advocate for more just state andfederal
policies for low-income people. The
Regional Food Bank is one of the founding
members of HANNYS and is proud
of the role HANNYS has played over
the past 25 years in addressing the needs
of the poor and hungry in New York
State.
“Congratulations to HANNYS on its 25th
Anniversary of fighting hunger in New
York State. Thousands of people in New
YorkState have been fed in their times
of greatest need because of
HANNYS’relentless advocacy over
thepast 25 years. Thank you, HANNYS,
for your work on behalf of the poor and
hungry,” said Quandt.
The Food Bank provided the first home
to Hunger Action when Mark Dunlea
was hired as its initial staff person. Cathy
Johnson, the Associate Director of the
Food Bank, served as the Hunger Action
Network Board chair at this time.
