By Arriana Patraw
Earlier this year, the Adirondack Health Institute (AHI) released the Adirondack Rural Health Network Food Pantry Guide, a comprehensive guide to food distribution locations in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren and Washington counties. This is an invaluable resource for individuals and families across the North Country.
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) reported in 2024 that one in four adults statewide experience food insecurity, a condition the DOH characterizes as “limited or uncertain access to sufficient food due to limited economic resources.” In rural regions like Northern New York, financial circumstances can be exacerbated by a number of other factors, including transportation and food deserts – communities that have little to no options for grocery shopping. Individuals and families can also find it difficult to find resources that can help.
AHI’s Food Pantry Guide provides concise information (location, hours, contact) on 100 food pantry sites across the region. It’s easy to read and includes a map of locations so people can easily find the closest available resources.
As an organization that works with schools and communities to improve access to nutritious food, The Heart Network and its Creating Healthy Schools & Communities program, funded by a grant from the NYSDOH, commends its partners at AHI for making this guide available to our communities. We also encourage elected officials, community organizations, and businesses to promote and share this guide as widely as possible, both online and at physical locations in our towns and cities.
Photo above: Members of the Schroon Lake Food Pantry, listed in AHI’s Adirondack Health Network Food Pantry Guide. Photo provided by Pam Fisher, Director of Community Relations Hudson Headwaters Health Network.
