Eight million pounds of food was donated to food banks and pantries by New York Farm Bureau members in 2020, the second highest donation total in the nation.

“I’m very proud of that, that I am part of that,” said Jim Gade.

Some of that food came from Gade and his family-run operation in at Gade Farm in Guilderland.

“It’s encouraging,” he said. “There are a lot of people, especially with the pandemic, that are in need, more so than ever, and there is a big void there to fill.”

The Gades have a long history of working with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the Guilderland Food Pantry.

“We try to encourage our customers to do the same,” he said. “So we set up tickets where a customer can come in, pick up one of the tickets and when they cash out, they can give it to the clerk."

He says the support has been tremendous and exceeded expectations.

“Every week the Guilderland Food Pantry would pick up, we had to hold stuff back to the next week,” he said. “It was more of what they could use of certain things.”

The Guilderland Food Pantry never closed during the pandemic. John McDonnell, the pantry’s executive director, says donations like those from Gade Farm are invaluable.

“Of the population we serve, 20% are seniors, 26% are families with children,” he said. “It’s really important for us to give them healthy nutritious food, as opposed to everything that is in a can or processed.”

McDonnell says Gade Farm and other local farmers donate about 5,000 pounds of food to the pantry every year on top of the 40,000 pounds from food drives and other programs.

“You know, the Guilderland community is fabulous,” he said.

McDonnell says while it’s hard to forecast the need moving forward, the supply is good.

“We’ve never run out of food. We always have plenty,” he said. “Nobody will leave this pantry hungry.”