Every Friday morning for the past five weeks, Joseph Paigo has made the long drive from Albany to Corinth so he could lend a hand.

“It’s just been a really, really great summer for me and I haven’t been working so I figured I had to do something,” Paigo said Friday.

Paigo is one of the volunteers for the Food Pantries for the Capital District’s mobile produce pickup site in front of Corinth Elementary School.

“It’s so great to be able to help these guys,” Paigo said.

For decades, the organization has run a coalition of about 60 food pantries across the region, but they recently identified Corinth as an area that was underserved; a fact only highlighted by the long line of cars each week.

“It’s pretty staggering how little we know about how much food insecurity there is around here,” Paigo said.

Natasha Pernicka, the Food Pantries for the Capital District’s executive director, says referrals for help across the Capital District skyrocketed by 1,000 percent during the pandemic.  Before picking up their produce, community members are surveyed and educated about other available resources.

“There are a lot of people who are new to struggling with food insecurity and they might not know where to turn,” Pernicka said.

For the past few summers, the school has offered daily free lunch and breakfast to students, but the Friday produce pickup - which is open to all in the community - is new.

To help with their efforts, the Lions Club made a $2,500 donation Friday morning.

“We think our school district is the hub of our community so what better place to bring in all the resources for our families?” Corinth Central School District Assistant Superintendent Jill Bovee said.

“It just fits really what we’re looking to do in the way of service in the community and continuing to give back,” said John McDonald, a representative of the Lions Club.

While Paigo may live far outside of Corinth, he says the looks on the faces of the people he helps keeps him coming back.

“The appreciation that’s shown, yeah, there’s a lot of gratitude there,” he said.