Nexstar Foundation donation helps Syracuse hunger project buy 15,000 meals

A $5,000 grant from the Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation will help the Saint Patrick’s Hunger Project buy about 15,000 meals for Syracuse families. The money will support a network that includes Saint Patrick’s and Saint Bridgit’s Pantry on Tipperary Hill.

The grant was awarded June 30 as part of Nexstar’s 30 Days of Giving campaign, marking its 30th anniversary dating back to June 1996. More than 100 organizations were nominated for the monthlong effort, and 60 charities received $5,000 grants, for a total of $300,000.

The Saint Patrick’s Hunger Project supports 20 or more local food pantries across Syracuse and nearby neighborhoods, and employees at WSYR-TV nominated the project for the grant.

The hunger project dates to 2006, when it was created under the Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade Committee Inc., the organization founded by Nancy Duffy in 1982. Since then, the project has donated more than one million meals to local families. Its mission is to support hunger-related agencies in Central New York throughout the year, with donations distributed to local food pantries in partnership with the Food Bank of Central New York and the Interreligious Food Consortium.

The Food Bank of Central New York serves 11 counties and works with more than 500 community partners. Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap estimated Onondaga County had 58,230 food-insecure residents in 2022, a 12.3% rate, along with an annual food budget shortfall of $47.703 million and an average meal cost of $4.36.