After Competitive RFP Process, The Junior League of Albany Announces The Food Pantries for the Capital District as New Community Partner 

Women-led volunteer organization announces two-year partnership with The Food Pantries for the Capital District.  The Junior League of Albany will allocate $25,000 to support The Food Pantries for the Capital District’s Infant Needs and Menstrual Health Programs to support underserved women and children. 

ALBANY, NY, January 7, 2025 – The Junior League of Albany (JLA) has selected The Food Pantries for the Capital District as its community partner to assist underserved women and children in the city of Albany and awarded the nonprofit $25,000 in funding, along with volunteer support, to advance The Food Pantries’ Infant Needs and Menstrual Health Program. The partnership will continue through May 2026.  

The Food Pantries for the Capital District is a coalition of more than 70 food pantries across Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties and works to address hunger in the Capital Region through programs and initiatives that help fund, purchase, collect and deliver millions of pounds food and other basic  needs to their coalition of food pantries.  

The Food Pantries Infant Needs Program provides member pantries with infant formula and diapers to support families across the region, and its Menstrual Health Program provides thousands of period products to pantries at no cost.  

“We are excited to partner with The Food Pantries to further our mission of supporting women and children through volunteer action and collaboration,” said JLA President Austin Zaranko. “This partnership will allow our members to have a direct impact on improving quality of life for women and children throughout the Capital Region.” 

1 in 2 U.S. families struggle with diaper need and 2 in 5 women have struggled to purchase period products in the past year due to lack of income, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.  

In 2024, The Food Pantries provided member pantries with 30,834 diapers and 84 units of formula. The nonprofit reports the need for these items far exceeds what it has been able to meet.  

Funds granted by this partnership will help to purchase up to 80,000 pads and up to 50,000 diapers and support the distribution of these products throughout the Capital Region.  

“We are thrilled to partner with JLA on our work to help ensure that Capital Region women and young girls do not have to miss out on work, school, or other life events because they don’t have access to period products,” said The Food Pantries Executive Director Natasha Pernicka. “This funding and support are an incredible opportunity to increase our impact in helping our most vulnerable community members have equitable access to healthy lives.” 

This is not the first time that these two organizations have worked together to better the lives of residents of the Capital District. Specifically, the JLA started the Food Shuttle program in the early 1990s after seeing the benefit and need for this type of food programming in our community. Then, from 2000-2001, in partnership with The Food Pantries, the Food Shuttle was taken over and run by The Food Pantries. JLA has continued to support the Food Shuttle and The Food Pantries, including granting the Food Shuttle monies to celebrate the JLA’s 100 year anniversary in 2017. In addition to financial support, JLA has provided volunteers for various Food Pantries programs and events. This long-standing partnership will continue to grow and flourish with this new project. 

About the Junior League of Albany
 Founded in 1917, the Junior League of Albany is committed to advancing women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. The Junior League of Albany is a volunteer organization for women interested in making an impact in their community.  

The Junior League of Albany is a member of The Association of Junior Leagues International, an organization of transformational female leaders who set bold goals, open their circles, disrupt convention and change the conversation for the betterment of civil society. Today, there are close to 300 Leagues across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. 

About The Food Pantries 

The Food Pantries for the Capital District is a coalition of over 70 food pantries across Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga counties. The Food Pantries mission is to address hunger in the Capital Region by funding, purchasing, collecting, and delivering millions of pounds of food each year to their member pantries. They also provide a forum for networking, coordination of services, education, and training for pantry staff and volunteers. They envision a hunger-free Capital Region.