Every part of the Schenectady Community Ministries Urban farms serves a purpose and everything harvested will go toward a good cause.

“We will get a couple dozen eggs from them a week, which will feed quite a few familiars over the course of a month,” farm coordinator Leah Egnaczyk said.

Egnaczyk keeps a careful eye over the farm that sits in the middle of downtown Schenectady.

“Everything at the farms is free so we share in the harvest, as long as people come and do the work, but that doesn’t mean we turn anyone away that comes and asks for food as well,” Egnaczyk said.

Along with making sure everything edible finds a home, the farm also makes sure they can repurpose whatever’s left behind.

“So that goes back into the regenerative. Farming is sustainability and that is one of the things with the solar panels that is important to us is that we are using our position in the world to make a difference,” Egnaczyk said.

The panels that Egnaczyk is talking about are part of their renewable energy initiative and the energy harvested by these panels will then power a fridge that will feed the community.

SICM has partnered with Free Food Fridge Albany, which is helping get the crops to those who need it.

“It’s like a really good way to like feel even more sense of community through having vegetables that grow right in the community and right into the fridge,” Jammella Anderson said.

The fridge has only been around for a short time, but the results have been promising as the community is utilizing the new food tool.

“It’s definitely a testament to how often we need stocking and how much people need,” Anderson said. “People are really just taking what they need, they aren’t emptying the fridge all at once. A lot of different people coming up to it, a lot of different families.”

As Free Food Fridge Albany continues to partner with organizations like SICM and other community-based groups they hope to stop the stigma around food pantries and food scarcity.

“People always ask 'who’s fridge is this?' I literally say it’s yours, you can take whatever you want from inside of it. It’s for the community,” Anderson said. “Tell anybody who needs it, and if you know anybody who wants to donate, let us know and we can figure it out.”