St. Vincent's Parish Center
984 Madison Ave.
Enter from Madison Ave.
518-694-3153

Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
12:30 - 2:30 PM
Closed Holidays

• Click Here to access our Sign up Genius for Gerneral food pantry help

• Click Here to access our sign up Genius for grocery Drivers and produce pick up

Founded 1983

Located at 984 Madison Avenue at the St. Vincent's Parish Center.  Our Food Pantry is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM.  We are closed on holidays. 
 
Who Do We Serve?
Food pantry guests must live in the Pine Hills or Eagle Point neighborhoods. If you are not sure if you live in our catchment area, please contact the Food Pantry at 518-694-3153.

How Do I Sign Up?
Come to the Food Pantry on a day we are open.  Please bring a piece of current mail and identification with date of birth for all members of your household.

What does a Food Pantry Volunteer Do?

Serving Guests: The Food Pantry is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 12:30 -2:30 Volunteers participate in many tasks including helping guests shop for food, restocking shelves, greeting guests, and maintaining a clean, inviting environment.

Pantry Drivers: Many of our Foods Pantry guests do not have transportation. Volunteer Drivers provide transportation for the shoppers’ groceries (not the guest –they will walk home).  This policy may change to providing rides to both the guest and their groceries in near future.

Produce Pick-Up: Free produce is available for pick up at the regional Food Bank. Volunteers are needed on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday- suggested arrival at the Regional Food Bank is 7:30. Volunteers bring the produce to the Pantry and spend about and hour sorting and bagging produce.

Anyone interested in joining the volunteer food pantry team must complete an application, background check, and sign a code of conduct. (Forms found on left hand side of this page)

All volunteer roles will include training!

Have questions? Want to volunteer? Contact Angela!

The best way to support the Food Pantry is through a monetary donation.  For every dollar you donate, we can purchase four (4) dollars worth of food from the Northeast Regional Food Bank.

You can make your donation via the St Vincent’s e-giving website or mail a check to the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, 900 Madison Avenue, Albany, New York 12208. Stock transfers are also welcome; please contact our Business Manager for instructions at 518-489-5408.

To Make a Food Donation…

We need items that can not be purchased with food stamps or are not available through the Regional Food Bank.  These hard-to-get items include:

• baby wipes
• laundry detergent
• instant coffee  
• feminine hygiene items
• disposable razors
• shaving cream
• deodorant
• toothpaste and toothbrushes
• paper products ( napkins, paper towels, Kleenex)

Gardening for the Food Pantry!

You can help our Food Pantry guests enjoy fresh produce!  Are you planting a vegetable garden this year? Consider planting a row or two of vegetables for the Food Pantry. The fresh produce shelves are the most popular spot in the Pantry. We do our best to keep it stocked with produce but there never seems to be enough. Make it a family project… teach your kids about growing things & helping others at the same time!
Share your harvest this summer! Help us provide the freshest local produce for our pantry guests right from your garden: cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, peas, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, etc… Questions: contact Angela Warner.

Guidelines for Food Donations

Everyone would like their donation to make a difference. Here are some guidelines to consider:

• Check expiration dates on all food items you’d like to donate. If the item is expired for 6 months or longer then it is not appropriate to donate.
• Items that do not have an ingredients label (e.g. home canned preserves) should not be donated. Recipients may have food allergies.
• For food safety reasons, any opened, used, or damaged item should not be donated.
• Check with the collecting organization or Food Pantry to find out specific needs for food or other items. Often times, money donations are preferred because your charitable dollar goes farther than what you can purchase at a grocery store.
• Finally, if you would not consume the item –please don’t donate it.