ALBANY COUNTY — Twelve percent of people, nearly 16,000, living in the 110th Assembly District, which includes Colonie, Niskayuna, and parts of Guilderland and Schenectady, are food insecure, according to Phil Steck, who represents the district.

On March 31, Steck toured the Northeast Regional Food Bank to mark the opening of a new training kitchen at the Latham facility for which Steck and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie secured $500,000.

“This new training kitchen will be a lasting resource to help provide nutritious meals and valuable education to those in need,” said Steck in a release about the event.

Coinciding with Steck’s visit, the food bank on Monday held a Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program training session in the new kitchen, bringing together a large group of agencies to focus on best practices for food handling and distribution.

The 2,000-square-foot kitchen can hold up to 400 people and will be used for training sessions, educational workshops, cooking demonstrations, and fundraising events.

The $500,000 in funding also paid for refrigerated docks, restrooms accessible to people with handicaps, improved signs, and expanded office and volunteer spaces.

The food bank serves 1,000 charitable agencies across 23 counties in eastern New York state, feeding 350,000 people every month, according to its website.

In 2024, the Regional Food Bank provided 1,588,654 pounds of food — equivalent to 1,323,879 meals — to individuals and families in the 110th Assembly District, according to Chief Executive Officer Tom Nardacci.

“This new kitchen is truly a community asset for our organization and the partners we work with,” said Nardacci in the release. “With this space, we will expand training opportunities, improve food safety education, provide new meeting rooms for our community partners, and engage the community in new ways.”