CANTON -- Six St. Lawrence County Community Development Program Neighborhood Center food pantries will be supported with a $4,000 grant from the Northern New York Community Foundation.

The six pantries are based in Neighborhood Centers located in Canton, Colton/Pierrepont/Parishville, Gouverneur, Massena, Ogdensburg, and Potsdam.

Officials with the Community Foundation say since Sept. 2022 the pantries have combined to help an average of 647 families per month, cumulatively serving more than 2,000 St. Lawrence County households.

Funds from the grant will be used "to purchase healthy foods to aid the most vulnerable individuals and families during a particularly challenging time of year."

“As our work in St. Lawrence County continues to grow, we see this as an important way of helping address essential needs and supporting the organizations working to alleviate them,” said Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “Strengthening the resources of food pantries has always been a core part of our annual grant making and a way to broadly impact the community.”

The St. Lawrence Community Development Program reports that the county has an overall higher percentage of food insecurity than national and state averages.

Overall, in St. Lawrence County, 13.5 percent of the population, or 14,509 adults, are classified as food insecure. Child food insecurity in the county is 17.7 percent with 18,808 children considered food insecure.

Nationally, 11.8 of U.S. adults and 16.1 percent of children are classified as food insecure, while 9.6 percent of adults in New York state and 14.6 percent of the state’s children are food insecure.