Regional Food Bank, Broadview, and Community Partners Celebrate Success of Innovative Freight Farm Harvest
March 26, 2025
The Regional Food Bank is celebrating National Nutrition Month by highlighting the successful bounty from the organization’s state-of-the-art Freight Farm. Donated by Broadview Federal Credit Union, the innovative shipping container turned hydroponic farm allows the Food Bank to grow high-quality, nutritious lettuce and other culturally significant leafy greens year-round.
Fresh, locally grown produce is a highly sought-after commodity within the Food Bank's network of partner agencies, making it a key focus for the organization. In fact, fresh produce accounts for 20% of the Food Bank’s annual distribution, and the Freight Farm is helping to meet this demand by ensuring a continuous supply of nutritious, locally grown food for communities in need.
The top five items grown in the Freight Farm are: collards, kale, mustard greens, tatsoi and arugula. In 2024, the farm produced 970 bags of leafy greens. This wouldn’t be possible without dedicated volunteers – in addition to Food Bank staff, 255 volunteer hours went into planting seeds to cultivating crops last year.
The Freight Farm’s fresh produce is significantly enhancing the Food Bank’s efforts to support local communities, particularly through its expanding programs like mobile pantries. These mobile units deliver food directly to areas across the Food Bank’s 23-county service area that are underserved by traditional brick-and-mortar pantries or grocery stores. Additionally, the innovative farm supports the “Just in Time” delivery initiative, which provides perishable food—such as produce and dairy—to pantries just before distribution, helping those agencies that lack the capacity to store such items.
“Through the generous donation by Broadview Federal Credit Union, the growing season here at the Regional Food Bank is 365 days a year,” said Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank. “We were honored to be among the first to receive a Freight Farm and we have learned and grown a lot in the past 18 months. Our goal is to provide fresh and nutritious food to our neighbors in need and we are able to do this thanks to great community partners like Broadview.”
“Fighting hunger in our community takes collaboration, commitment, and creativity. The addition of this Freight Farm encompasses all those elements. We are thrilled to see the Regional Food Bank succeed in its ongoing efforts to provide fresh, culturally appropriate food to our neighbors all year,” said Broadview CEO Michael Castellana. “With each Broadview-funded Freight Farm in the Capital Region, we are providing countless meals worth of fresh produce and a source of pride for the organizations operating them. It doesn’t get any better than that, and we’re just getting started.”
“We are serving more people in need thanks to this Freight Farm,” said Minister Anthony Lewis, Bread of Life Food Pantry. “We are receiving culturally relevant fresh produce, which is in high demand, collards, mustard greens, kale, and tatsoi, among many others. Having access to these nutritious foods year-round is not only feeding our neighbors in need but providing healthier food options.”
The Regional Food Bank distributes 15 million pounds of produce each year across the 23-county service area. In addition to the freight farm, a vast amount of the produce is acquired from New York farmers and about 100,000 pounds is grown at the Food Bank’s Patroon Land Farm in Voorheesville.
About Broadview Federal Credit Union
Broadview is among the largest Credit Unions in New York State with nearly $9 billion in assets, more than 500,000 members, and more than 60 branches in the Capital Region, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Buffalo. Broadview is a people-first financial institution dedicated to providing best in class products and serves to our members, empowering our employees, and strengthening our communities through investments and volunteerism.
