By Jared Castañeda
The Regional Food Bank of Hudson Valley, located at 580 Route 416 in Montgomery, is an invaluable facility that feeds countless families in the Lower Hudson Valley region. On October 21, members and partners of the food bank gathered at the facility to announce their latest initiative: a massive Thanksgiving meal distribution, providing families in need with dinners for the upcoming holiday.
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, the parent organization of the Hudson Valley facility, established this distribution program last year per the request of Equinox, a human services organization. In 2024, the Regional Food Bank served over 150,000 Thanksgiving meals to six counties in the Capital Region. This November, the nonprofit will expand this program and distribute 350,000 meals to 75,000 people across 23 counties. For the Lower Hudson Valley, the food bank will serve 115,000 meals to 25,000 people in Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster counties.
In the leadup to Thanksgiving, hundreds of food bank employees and volunteers will distribute meals at six pickup locations and over a dozen senior citizen sites in the Hudson Valley. The pickup sites will include the Regional Food Bank in Montgomery, Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, the Good Neighbor Food Pantry in Woodstock, the Sullivan Government Center in Woodstock, and Clover Stadium in Pomona. Each family will receive a 30-pound bag filled with various food items and ingredients sourced from local partners, providing all the essentials needed to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner at home.
During a recent press conference, several food bank officials and partners discussed this year’s distribution, emphasizing that it will be the largest Thanksgiving distribution in New York State. Many speakers also praised the Regional Food Bank for its tireless efforts to feed hundreds of thousands of residents, especially given recent challenges like federal cuts to food assistance programs.
“With the support of our sponsors, food industry partners, and volunteers, we are taking the monumental step of feeding all of our neighbors in need throughout our 23-county service area this Thanksgiving,” said Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank. “We know the need is greater than ever, especially with the federal spending cuts this year, which eliminated more than seven million pounds of food to our region, or more than 5.8 million meals.”
“This is the largest Thanksgiving distribution in the state, and we could not do it without the tremendous support from the lower Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and the North Country,” Nardacci added.
For more information on the Regional Food Bank and its Thanksgiving distribution, visit its website at regionalfoodbank.net.
Dining and Cooking