The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley on May 19 broke ground to begin construction of a 40,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center on a six-acre parcel on Route 416 near Orange County Airport in Montgomery. The facility is designed to increase the ability of the organization to distribute food through approximately 400 member agencies in the lower Hudson Valley.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus, who was among the elected officials attending the groundbreaking, welcomed the state-of-the-art facility that he said would serve the needs of about 170,000 people.
“I was happy to be there and looking forward to that site being operational so it can help those folks in need,” Neuhaus said.
A major share of the funding for the new facility is through a $10.7 million Community Development Block Grant CARES Program grant administered by New York State Home and Community Renewal. The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley was due to provide $1.9 million in addition to approximately $800,000 in private donations.
On its Facebook page, the Food Bank said, “This facility will allow us to increase our capacity to distribute food throughout the six Hudson Valley counties within our service areas. We are proud to honor our commitment to improve access to food in our community!”
When the state funding for the project was announced, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “The ongoing financial impact of the pandemic has left more New Yorkers to rely on their local food pantries to feed their families. New York is committed to addressing food insecurity and combatting hunger in our communities, and this new larger facility will strengthen our emergency food network in the Hudson Valley and help more residents in need.”
Molly Nicol, CEO of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, has said of the project, “This new warehouse will enable us to better fulfill our mission. We will be closer to our donation partners, closer to our distribution partners, closer to our neighbors in need and truly imbedded in this wonderful community. It is so exciting to imagine a new and better future for the region.”
