The food industry is the backbone of food banking. Hundreds of local and national companies donate quality food to the Regional Food Bank, including:

• Distributors
• Farmers
• Food Brokers
• Manufacturers
• Restaurants & Foodservice Operations
• Retailers
• Wholesalers

On December 4, 2006, the New York Farm Bureau kicked off its State Annual Meeting and celebrated its partnership with NYS food banks by holding its Third Annual Food Donation Event at the Regional Food Bank.

A total of 60,495 pounds of fresh produce, dairy, eggs and meat products were donated by generous farmers, producers and wholesalers. We thank those who participated:

• Barber’s Farm
• Borden’s Orchard
• Crowley Foods
• Decker’s Produce Co.
• Eagle Bridge Custom
• Meats & Smokehouse
• Garelick Farms
• Indian Ladder Farms
• Kelder Farm
• Levonian Brothers
• Macadam Cheese
• Moses Farm
• Patroon Land Foundation Farm
• Schnare Farm
• Schoharie Valley Farm
• Shaul Farm
• Sheldon Farm
• Staron Farm
• Sunrise Farms
• Venison Donation Coalition of NYS
• Wild Thymes Farm

The Food Bank accepts donations of shelf-stable, fresh and frozen food, and non-food items such as paper goods, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies –basically any item available from a grocery retailer or distributor. These products may no longer be marketable for the company, but if they are still good to use and can be safely consumed they are of great value to the non-profits the Food Bank serves.

There are many reasons why companies choose to donate, including:

• Production flaws
• Overproduction
• Mislabeling
• Unlabeled product (can be accepted with verification of ingredients)
• Discontinuation of product line
• Pack changes or reformulations
• Code dates –guidelines are researched and followed for safely utilizing close or past dated products
• Cosmetic packaging damages
• Shipping errors
• Deliveries that are not accepted and cannot be returned cost-effectively
• Product samples or test market items
• Unharvested or imperfect produce

The Food Bank’s Moveable Feast program focuses on the collection and prompt distribution of prepared and perishable foods from grocery stores, restaurants, caterers and food service operations. The Food Bank can provide restaurants and caterers with aluminum pans and lids to package prepared foods they wish to donate. The Moveable Feast trucks can pick up donations Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

The Food Bank can accept virtually any food or non-food product. However, we cannot accept items under the following conditions:

• Product that has been thawed
• Prepared food that has been exposed to public self-service
• Product that has been repackaged, opened or removed from it’s original packaging

• Tax Incentive
  • All businesses are eligible for a tax deduction for donations of product to the Regional Food Bank. Businesses can deduct from their taxes an amount equal to the cost of the donated items plus one-half their fair market value, or two-thirds the cost, whichever is less. For more information on this tax incentive, call Joanne Dwyer at 786-3691 x223.

• Convenience and savings in storage, inventory, transportation and dumping costs
• Complete product tracking and recall capabilities
• Product donation receipt showing item(s) and total weight
• Safe Food Handling Training
• The most important reason of all… over 40,000 people need food assistance each week in the Food Bank’s service area.

If you would like more information about making a food donation call
Joanne Dwyer
Director of Food Sourcing , Business Development Representative
(518)786-3691, x223.

To make arrangements for a food donation, call the
Receiving Office,
(518)786-3691, x242

To schedule a pick up or delivery after hours, please leave a message and we will return your call the next business day.

If you are located in Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam or Rockland counties, please call our branch facility:
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley
(845) 534-5344.

The Food Bank is available to pick up or receive deliveries Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.

To help us best prepare for your donation, please provide the following product information:

• Company name, contact(s), address, phone, fax and e-mail
• Receipting address (if different from product location)
• Date and time you would like the product picked up (or delivered to the Food Bank)
• Amount / number of pallets
• Product information and reason for donation –best-used-by dates, pack size, pallet configuration, information about extended shelf life, etc…