NY PLATES Grants Send $125,000 to Utica Food Pantry
Johnson Park Center’s operating organization will use the state capital grant for a new warehouse and food-box preparation building, while 58 other groups receive infrastructure awards across New York.
By David LaGuerre
New York’s new round of NY PLATES grants includes $125,000 for JCTOD Outreach in Oneida County to build a food pantry warehouse and food-box preparation building for Johnson Park Center in Utica. The Mohawk Valley award is part of $8.3 million announced Monday, Oct. 26, for 59 food banks, pantries and emergency food organizations statewide.
The grant is important locally because it pays for the less visible infrastructure behind food assistance: space to receive deliveries, store products safely, organize boxes and move food to households. The award does not replace SNAP benefits or buy a family’s groceries directly. It is a capital investment intended to help an existing provider handle food more safely and efficiently over time.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said the awards cover all 10 of the state’s Regional Economic Development Council regions. The state created the New York Providing Local Access to Essential Sustenance program, known as NY PLATES, with $10 million in the fiscal year 2027 budget. Monday’s announcement accounts for roughly $8.3 million of that total.
Utica project is the Mohawk Valley’s only listed award
JCTOD Outreach received the full $125,000 listed for the Mohawk Valley region. According to the governor’s announcement, the money will support construction of a new pantry warehouse and food-box preparation building for Johnson Park Center.
Johnson Park Center has long operated food and community services in Utica. The Phoenix previously covered the opening of its Green Community Center food pantry wing and a community mural unveiled at the center. The new grant is for another physical expansion focused on warehouse and preparation capacity.
The state announcement did not provide a construction schedule, final building size or projected increase in the number of households served. It also did not say when grant funds will be disbursed. Those details will matter when local residents assess how quickly the award changes pantry operations.
What NY PLATES can fund
NY PLATES is a competitive capital program. Eligible applicants included food banks, emergency food programs and municipalities that provide food-relief services within New York’s 10 regional food-bank territories. Applications were accepted from July 8 through Aug. 20, 2026, and were evaluated for need, likely impact and project viability.
Allowed uses include:
- Design, construction or reconstruction of food-assistance facilities
- Major renovations and infrastructure improvements
- Cold-storage and freezer systems
- Warehouse and food-handling equipment
- Refrigerated trucks and other food-transportation vehicles
- Backup power and related systems that help protect perishable food
The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York administers the program with the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Nutrition Security. DASNY President and CEO Robert J. Rodriguez said reliable facilities and equipment can help pantries store more food, reduce waste and reach more families. State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald described access to nutritious food as an important factor in overall health.
Those goals are practical. A pantry can have willing volunteers and donated food but still lose capacity if it lacks refrigeration, loading equipment, dry storage or a safe area to pack boxes. Capital grants address those bottlenecks. They do not cover every operating expense, and they should not be confused with income-based nutrition programs such as SNAP.
How the $8.3 million is distributed
The state listed the following regional totals:
- Capital Region: $993,496
- Central New York: $445,998
- Finger Lakes: $659,691
- Long Island: $1,084,480
- Mid-Hudson: $970,333
- Mohawk Valley: $125,000
- New York City: $2,271,725
- North Country: $243,395
- Southern Tier: $941,297
- Western New York: $580,142
The full award list is available through DASNY. The largest examples in several regions are $400,000 grants for major food-bank projects. The Food Bank of Central New York in Onondaga County will receive $400,000 for a truck and trailer, backup-power improvements and warehouse equipment. Seven Valleys Health Coalition in Cortland County will receive $45,998 for a forklift and portable generator.
Those Central New York projects can also matter to Mohawk Valley residents because the Food Bank of Central New York’s service territory includes Oneida, Herkimer and Madison counties. Food assistance often operates through regional supply chains even when the final distribution point is a neighborhood pantry.
Other notable projects include refrigerated trucks for Island Harvest on Long Island and Feeding Westchester, refrigeration improvements for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, and vehicles aimed at rural distribution in the Southern Tier. In Western New York, the Olean Food Pantry will use $125,000 for rooftop solar intended to lower operating costs.
Why capacity matters as food aid faces pressure
The Hochul administration presented the grants as part of a wider response to federal reductions and new requirements affecting nutrition assistance. The state says its fiscal year 2027 budget includes $189 million for food assistance, including more than $72 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, $15 million for regional food banks and pantries, and $55 million for Nourish New York. The administration also cited an additional $65 million announced in October for emergency food assistance during the federal government shutdown.
The same budget includes $395 million for universal free school meals, a $55 million increase. New York reported serving more than 396 million free school meals during the 2025-26 academic year. The state also expects to begin issuing more secure, chip-enabled EBT cards in the first quarter of 2027, alongside card-freeze tools and warnings about electronic benefit theft.
Those programs serve different purposes. School meals feed students during the school day. SNAP gives eligible households money to buy groceries. Nourish New York links food banks with New York farms. Emergency pantries fill gaps. NY PLATES pays for the buildings, vehicles and equipment that allow the emergency network to function.
The Phoenix has previously reported on the launch of the $10 million NY PLATES program, as well as the effect of pressure on SNAP and food banks. Monday’s announcement moves the program from an application opportunity to a named list of funded projects.
What residents should know
The award announcement is not a new application for individual food benefits. Oneida County residents who need food now should not wait for the construction project. They can contact Johnson Park Center directly, use Feeding New York State’s food-assistance locator, or contact the regional food bank or a local social-services office.
Families should also protect EBT information. New York advises cardholders to use official tools to freeze a card when it is not in use, review transactions and report suspected theft promptly. No pantry or government agency should ask for an EBT PIN by unsolicited text or email.
For Utica, the next useful milestones will be a construction timetable, a clear description of the new building, and information about how much additional food can be stored or packed. The state should also clarify whether the balance between the $10 million program appropriation and the roughly $8.3 million announced Monday will support later awards, administration or other eligible costs.
If you use or support local food programs, share this story with someone who may need the locator. Readers with firsthand information about the Johnson Park Center project may contact the Utica Phoenix newsroom.
