AdkAction and their partners have been awarded $225,000 from the Adirondack Foundation, as well as the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, and the New York State Health Foundation to continue the Emergency Food Packages Project. The project provides healthy, locally grown food to Adirondack residents in need.

To date, over 2,300 food packages (about 35,000 meals) have been delivered to families with the help of 700 independent donors, and the Adirondack Foundations SUN Fund. Over $100,000 has been put into the local agricultural economy as well through this project, in turn supporting roughly 20 farms and 75 farmworkers. This new grant should double these results and assist AdkAction in building a program which will subsidize local food purchasing, and greatly increase Hub on the Hill’s food distribution capacity.

“Three factors that make our region especially vulnerable to health and economic threats – aging demographics, lack of resources like access to food, and distance to healthcare – have been heightened because of the pandemic. This innovative initiative brings together a variety of partners to deliver healthy food to people in need while also supporting local farms. We applaud this win-win strategy and are proud to join with other funders to help support it.”  Says Cali Brooks, the CEO of Adirondack Foundation.

AdkAction and Hub on the Hill will be creating an additional 2,000 Emergency Food Packages to be delivered to the ADK community between now and Oct. 1, which will be followed by a plan to transition to a model of creating food packages and making them available for purchase from the Hub’s Mobile Market, allowing customers to buy the packages at extremely discounted prices, available for purchase via SNAP and other food incentives. AdkAction will also be piloting a newer food incentive program titled “Fair Food Pricing” which will further subsidize the cost of food packages. SNAP users will be able to buy local food for up to 65 percent less than the retail price, and farmers will receive 100 percent of market value for their products. AdkAction hopes for a reliable market for area farmers and a stable and affordable venue for vulnerable Adirondack residents to shop for fresh and healthy food. The extended program will run until Dec. 31.