It was Mister Rogers who famously said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
When it comes to fighting local food insecurity, you’ll find a legion of those helpers at the Regional Food Bank, which recently rebranded, dropping the “of Northeastern New York” from its name.
Founded in 1982, the organization’s mission is clear—alleviate hunger and nourish the community. That feels distinctly urgent now, as grocery bills skyrocket amid federal cuts to food assistance programs.
While those cuts and costs affect communities as a whole, they can be especially detrimental for kids. A 2025 No Kid Hungry poll shows 73 percent of Capital Region residents reported their children’s physical health had suffered due to the rising cost of food.
“We know statistics show that if a child has access to healthy, fresh food on the weekends, they come to school on Monday morning ready,” says Michael-Aaron Poindexter, the chief program officer for the Regional Food Bank. “I used to work in education, and I saw firsthand the difference between a kid who had access to food through the weekend and a kid who didn’t.”
That’s why the Regional Food Bank’s BackPack Program has been a local lifeline for 20 years. Having served more than 5,000 kids in 103 districts, it provides a nutrition bridge between weekdays, discreetly distributing backpacks full of healthy, easy-prep food to kids for the weekend. The organization also runs a School Pantry Program, which stocks foods students get to choose themselves—giving them autonomy, choice, and dignity, too.
Volunteers are a huge part of making this happen, and there are a number of ways to help—from planting and picking at Patroon Land Farm in Voorheesville to food distribution days throughout the region. If you’d like to support the kids’ programs, sign up for a sorting shift to sift and repack donations; many of those will make their way into backpacks and school pantries.
“Food insecurity…it doesn’t look likesomeone,” Poindexter says. “Folks in rural areas, suburban areas, urban
areas…Food insecurity is rampant throughout, and you’d never know.”
Sign up to volunteer at regionalfoodbank.net/volunteer-page and send any questions to volunteers@regionalfoodbank.net.
