Feed Albany nonprofit gets $250,000 grant
Philanthropists announce “major” financial assistance
The call, somewhat cryptic, came last Friday: Get founders and board members of the Feed Albany nonprofit together on Monday for the announcement of a “major donation.”
“All they’d say was that it was six figures,” said Francesca Pardi, a Feed
Albany board member and its executive director, who took the call from a representative of the Saratoga Springs-based Mitzen Family Foundation.
Even if the donation was “only” $100,000, that would be significant, Pardi knew: It would equal what Feed Albany has spent since its founding less than 11 months ago to provide more than 250,000 meals, plus groceries and other essential items, for thousands of people in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady
counties.
When the Mitzen foundation check was unveiled Monday, it exploded the six-figure barrier, to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars.
One board member streamed tears of joy. Others cheered and clapped. “We were in shock,” said Pardi, who had gathered at dp: An American Brasserie with fellow board members, founders and a core group of the approximately 500 volunteers who have given time to cause.
Suddenly, a permanent future seemed not only possible but likely for Feed Albany, an ad-hoc effort conceived and founded essentially overnight to provide what was assumed would be temporary meals.
The intended recipients, at least at first, were restaurant workers left unemployed after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s announcement on March 16 that the bars and dining rooms of the state’s approximately 50,000 eateries would be shuttered
indefinitely, with only takeout and delivery allowed.
That first week, meals were being distributed within three days, and the scope of the effort already had begun to broaden to include at-risk and in-need individuals, first responders and more.
With abundant food donations available from wholesalers whose restaurant accounts had shriveled or vanished, Feed Albany ramped up its output, using multiple restaurant kitchens to produce meals that were distributed by volunteers and official agencies, including law enforcement.
And Feed Albany’s database of those seeking food relief continued to grow. Today it numbers more than 4,400 individuals, Pardi said, with likely thousands more uncounted but served through delivery to clients including the Albany Housing Authority, senior apartment complexes, a cancer survivor’s network and the Free Food Fridge Albany community campaign. Additionally, the nonprofit has provided groceries and essential items to senior citizens and families in need throughout the Capital Region.
Feed Albany’s ambition and impact were noticed by Saratoga Springs philanthropists Ed and Lisa Mitzen.
“The Mitzen family has seen the tremendous power of community, selflessness and empathy Feed Albany has embodied since its founding less than a year ago,” Ed Mitzen, who owns the Fingerpaint marketing agency in Saratoga, said in a statement. “We are proud to support this genuine, remarkable and volunteer-led endeavor as part of our philanthropic vision for our region. It is our hope that we set an example for others to open their wallets and give to organizations such as Feed Albany to ensure their success in responding to crisis continues to be as fruitful and effective,” Mitzen said.
“As we near our one-year anniversary, this tremendous donation will allow us to greatly enhance our continuing efforts to provide meals, much-needed grocery items and essentials for those in need and at risk,” Dominick Purnomo, Feed Albany president and co-founder, said in a statement. He said the Mitzen donation will be used to sustain and expand Feed Albany’s core operations, including providing additional meals, grocery items and essential needs.
Feed Albany currently cooks meals two days per week at dp: An American Brasserie, coowned by Purnomo, and one day weekly at the University Club, also in Albany. Free meals, all with protein, starch and vegetable, are available Wednesday evenings at dp and delivered two days a week to 75 to 125 residences across multiple counties. Recipients typically receive meals for at least three weeks as Feed Albany works with social-services organizations and other providers to assist them in finding longerterm solutions, Pardi said.
The $250,000 Mitzen award, announced Monday, the National Day of Service, is equal to the entire amount that Feed Albany has raised so far in its existence, Pardi said. As long as food donations remained steady and underutilized restaurant kitchens continued to be available, Feed Albany’s burgeoning bank account was being saved for a time when, it is assumed, neither may be true. As the coronavirus pandemic recedes with the distribution of COVID -19 vaccines, restaurants will presumably be allowed to open back up to full capacity, and food once donated will need to be purchased, Pardi said.
“If we can’t use restaurant kitchens, we’ll need to pay for a commercial kitchen going forward,” Pardi said. She said as Feed Albany grows, its payroll also will likely increase. It currently pays two cooks, a volunteer coordinator and Pardi, as executive director, all on a parttime basis, she said. Additional administrative and culinary staffing will be needed to meet expanded services, she said.
Speaking of the Mitzen Family Foundation donation to Feed Albany, Pardi said, “This really changes everything. It makes so much more possible.”
In October, the Mitzens purchased The Bread Basket Bakery in Saratoga, founded in 1982, and said they are dedicating all profits to local charities. That month they also gave $25,000 to Capital Roots, a Troy-based organization with a mission to reduce the impact of poor nutrition on public health.