Schenectady Community Ministries (2023)

2023 Community Partner Award Winner

Schenectady Community Ministries (SiCM) is an interfaith, community-based collaborative founded 56 years ago to address issues of marginalization and disenfranchisement in Schenectady County. SiCM programs address public health needs such as hunger and nutrition, encourage healthy behaviors, and advocate to improve the lives of the communities it serves. SiCM programs include community-based urban farming, the largest food pantry in Schenectady County including a food delivery system and mobile pantry operations, summer meals for children and youth, and a Community Hub centered around community wellbeing.

SiCM’s summer meals program is centered around youth. In 2022, the summer meals served over 65,000 meals to children and youth in Schenectady and Scotia. SiCM also has 4 mobile pantries in partnership with the Schenectady City School District, as a founding partner of their Community Schools initiatives. These mobile pantries bring SiCM resources directly to the people we serve, especially serving youth and families. Our pantry on Hamilton Hill, the mobile pantries, and our delivery service combined served 15,000 visits in 2022, providing groceries for close to 600,000 meals. The SiCM Urban Farms’ mission is to lower barriers to fresh food access while building a healthy, resilient, and diverse community in Schenectady. Each of these programs coordinated and encouraged by the partnerships we share, including the Schenectady City School District, the Mohonasen Central School District, C.R.E.A.T.E Studios, Schenectady ARC, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Working Group on Girls, the SEAT Center, and the support of faith communities throughout the county and region.