MONTGOMERY, N.Y.—The Regional Food Bank held a 24-hour volunteer event designed to keep the lights and food moving at the Hudson Valley distribution center from 8 a.m. on Sept. 18 to 8 a.m. on Sept. 19.
The food bank also recently recruited Bill Fioravanti as the regional vice president for the Hudson Valley. He’ll be leading fundraising, partnerships, and community relations for the organization in the region.
Fioravanti has two decades of business leadership experience in the Hudson Valley and is leaving his position as CEO of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency.
The Regional Food Bank is a not-for-profit that operates in 23 of New York’s 62 counties, serving more than 355,000 meals each month. It covers most of the eastern side of the state, stretching from the Lower Hudson region in Rockland County to the Canadian border.
The organization’s 2025 net operating revenue was nearly $112.9 million. The majority, $65.8 million, came from donated food, and a total of $16.6 million came from the government.
Volunteer-a-Thon
People bustled like bees in the sorting room, sorting frozen food into boxes and pallets. The high warehouse echoed with hurried feet and bright chatter.
The Regional Food Bank held the 24-hour volunteer event in the spirit of Hunger Action Month, which takes place every September. Its purpose is to raise awareness of hunger and inspire action.
Volunteers could sign up for two-hour shifts between 8 a.m. on Sept. 18 and 8 a.m. the next day. Four hundred people signed up for two-hour shifts at three Regional Food Bank locations. The volunteers are given some training and instruction before moving the food. Volunteers took home a Regional Food Bank hat, shirt, or bottle.
Veronica Ingram-Henry, vice president of programs and strategic initiatives, helped oversee the 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. shift at the Hudson Valley Distribution Center, in Montgomery. During her shift, more than 20 people came in to help, many from the Hudson Valley branch of Keller Williams Realty and the Montgomery-based Walden Savings Bank.
Ingram-Henry told The Epoch Times that volunteer shifts are always available at the warehouse and that the 24-hour event is specifically to attract more people to food bank volunteering. She said that the Volunteer-a-Thon was a success—even the midnight shift got more than 12 people—and that it will be held again.
Keller Williams Hudson Valley Upstate Network founder and operating principal Rosemarie Pelatti at the 24-Hour Volunteer-a-Thon at the Hudson Valley Distribution Center in Montgomery, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2026. (Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times)
“The food bank is one of the great volunteer opportunities for us because it really serves such a large amount of the communities in the Hudson Valley and upstate,” she told The Epoch Times.
Pelatti said that she’s grateful for the opportunity the food bank provides for her, not just her employees.
“I’ve been very blessed in life, and so I’m always looking for opportunities to give back,” she said.
Kim Judd, a Walden Savings Bank employee, said it was her second time volunteering at the food bank.
“I like the positivity. I like to see people come together for the community, and I like to see things that would normally get wasted be put to good use,” she said.
The Walden Bank gives eight hours of volunteer paid time off, Judd said. She saw that they were doing this first-time event and decided it would be a great way to help out.
“It’s high energy,” she said. “It’s a great turnout, so things move really fast. It’s chaotic but organized chaos, and it feels incredible to see the amount of food that we’re packing and sending out to people in need.”
Kim Judd at the 24-Hour Volunteer-a-Thon at the Hudson Valley Distribution Center in Montgomery, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2026. (Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times)New Vice President
The Regional Food Bank announced on Sept. 11 that Bill Fioravanti was hired as the executive vice president of the Hudson Valley and of food industry partnerships and business development, effectively serving as the organization’s Hudson Valley leader.
Fioravanti is a resident of the city of Newburgh and since 2021 has served as CEO of the County Industrial Development Agency, which he will be stepping away from. He has served leadership roles in both government and private business development organizations for the region.
Fioravanti told The Epoch Times on Sept. 17 that he will be continuing with the development agency until Oct. 9.
“I wasn’t really looking to leave. This is an opportunity that came about just the right time. I loved my time at the IDA despite any challenges and perceptions in the media, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said.
He said his role will be as the point person for the six Hudson Valley counties the food bank operates in, where he said 45 percent of their food is distributed. Part of that is expanding the food bank’s influence and bringing in more partners in the space.
“There are thousands of potential food industry partners for the food bank in this region, and we only work with a couple hundred, so I think there is potential to work with farms and companies in the food and beverage sector, many of whom I have strong relationships with,” he said.
The Industrial Development Agency (IDA) was faced with increasing oversight and pushback from state and local governments in the past couple of years, including the creation of a state monitor for the agency, the vetoing of a tax break for a potential Amazon warehouse, and lawsuits.
Fioravanti said that he didn’t leave out of frustration and that the situation was improving at the development agency.
“We’ve had some really constructive dialogue over the last five or six months about potential policy enhancements for the IDA that would be best for everyone,” he said.
