The Albany Food Share Needs a Home.

Let’s build one.

Fundraing Goal: $100,000

Current Fundraised amount: $7,000

Project Start Date: April 2026

History of the Albany Food Share

When it began, the food share was receiving donated produce and purchased food, which was purchased jointly with the Craftsbury Food Share using community donations. After several rounds of trying to continue soliciting donations directly, without a non-profit or fiscal sponsor, the Craftsbury and Albany Food shares began discussions to join forces with the Hardwick Area Food Pantry in order to have non-profit status, membership in the Vermont Food Bank, and access to shared administration, fundraising, and hopefully some fiscal sustainability. In 2021, The Albany Food Share officially became a site of the Hardwick Area Food Pantry.

Financial Support to Residents of Albany

From July 2022 to June 2023, the Albany Food Share served a total of 393 people. During this same period, the Hardwick Area Food Pantry served 2243 total individuals, approximately 310 of whom were from the town of Albany.  This represents roughly 25% of the population of Albany. Not all of these residents access the Albany Food Share site - some use the Craftsbury site and some use the Hardwick site. The HAFP food expenses for this time period was approximately $158,000 for all three sites. Based on the percentage of Albany residents receiving food, Albany residents accounted for over $21,000 dollars in food costs. At our 2022 town meeting, residents of Albany voted to increase the appropriation for HAFP to $5000. This means that the town covers almost 25% of the cost of the food that goes to town residents. That is hugely helpful to the food pantry, and we greatly appreciate the support that Albany has shown to our organization, and the willingness of Albany residents to support their fellow residents. As of town meeting 2022, the town of Irasburg is appropriating $500 per year to the HAFP. I am hopeful that this could increase as awareness is raised. 

All of the three sites of the HAFP serve individuals who come from other towns. The Albany Food Share serves anyone who comes to get food from our Albany Town Hall location. We also have a policy of offering delivery to residents of Albany or Irasburg who are unable to pick up the food in person for some reason. We have a handful of volunteers from Irasburg who deliver to Irasburg residents. We help the Craftsbury site in delivering a few boxes to Craftsbury residents, though this is generally delivered by a resident of Craftsbury. Most of our delivery recipients are elderly, disabled, work on Saturdays, or have other difficulty picking up the food in person.