Helpful Harvest Fund Awards Over $70,000 to Human Service Organizations

Through the Helpful Harvest Grant Round, supported by the Helpful Harvest Fund, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties awarded $71,849 to 50 human service organizations including food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters to help alleviate food insecurity and support increased need around the holidays and colder months.

This year’s recipients received grants ranging from $200 to $1,600:

• Angels Among Us Food Pantry
• Bill Gavin Food Pantry
• Camden Area Food Pantry
• Catholic Charities of Herkimer County
• Catholic Charities of Oneida & Madison Counties
• Center for Family Life and Recovery
• College Community Connection (C3)
• Compassion Coalition
• Connected Community Schools
• Country Pantry
• Dolgeville Area Food Pantry
• Feed Our Veterans
• First Presbyterian Church of Ilion
• Foothills Rural Community Ministry
• Helping Hands Food Pantry
• Herkimer County Office for the Aging
• Hope Chapel Association
• Hope House
• Johnson Park Center
• Karing Kitchen
• Kids for Utica
• Kuyahoora Valley Food Pantry
• Midtown Utica Community Center
• Mohawk Valley Frontiers Club
• Mohawk Valley Rotary
• Mother Marianne's West Side Kitchen
• New Life Assembly of God Food Pantry
• Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church
• Old Forge Library
• Rescue Mission of Utica
• Rome First United Methodist Church
• Rome Rescue Mission
• Salvation Army of Herkimer
• Salvation Army Utica Citadel Corps
• Seeds of Hope Food Pantry
• St. John the Baptist Church
• St. John's Outreach Food Pantry
• St. Margaret's Food Pantry
• St. Patrick's & St. Mary's Food Pantry
• Tangerine Grove Food Pantry
• The Salvation Army of Rome
• Thea Bowman House
• Town of Verona Food Pantry
• Upstate Family Health Center
• Utica Food Pantry
• Utica Royalties, Inc.
• Waterville Food Pantry
• Westminster Moriah Olivet Pantry
• Your Nuhorizons
• YWCA of the Mohawk Valley

“The Helpful Harvest grant assisted the YWCA of the Mohawk Valley in purchasing gift cards to local grocery stores for our clients. The cold weather, holidays, and stress of trauma in general impacts our clients in an already chaotic time in their lives,” said YWCA of the Mohawk Valley Chief Executive Officer Dianne Stancato. “With the rising costs of food, gas, heating, etc., the women and families we serve, like so many others in our community are struggling. We are so grateful to the Community Foundation and their donors for this support.”

Community Foundation partners and donors hope to curtail the unfortunate rise in needs throughout our community, particularly during the holiday season. Many donated to the fund or recommended a grant directly to eligible organizations as part of their year-end giving. Donations to the fund will be accepted year-round in preparation for next year’s holiday season. To learn more about the fund and to donate, visit foundationhoc.org/helpfulharvestfund.