Sidney Federal Credit Union (SFCU) has donated $10,000 to SUNY Oneonta’s Red Dragon Food Pantry as part of the credit union’s 2026 “1 Million Reasons” initiative.
The yearlong initiative is committing $1 million to organizations supporting four areas of community need: housing, food and basic needs, education and transportation. SFCU selected the Red Dragon Food Pantry to help address food insecurity in the Oneonta community.
The Red Dragon Food Pantry, operated by the Office of Student Care & Well-Being, provides the SUNY Oneonta community with free access to nonperishable food, fresh produce and basic needs items.
“We have a very simple purpose statement at SFCU: do well to do good,” said SFCU President and CEO Jim Reynolds. “We’re headquartered in this community, and we recognize how important it is to be embedded within SUNY Oneonta and the broader community. This is one of the ways we can give back and help support students.”
SFCU Donation Expands Food Pantry Resources
SFCU’s donation will primarily support the pantry’s food and basic needs inventory, including specialty dietary items such as gluten-free, kosher, halal and vegan foods. The funding also will allow the pantry to explore long-term infrastructure improvements, including commercial-grade refrigeration and freezer units.
“The $10,000 is more than half of the Food Pantry’s annual budget,” said Sean Babcock, Basic Needs & Crisis Student Care Counselor. “It’s a significant donation. Primarily, it’ll be used to augment the food that we purchase, stock and have available to students and the SUNY Oneonta community.”
In the 2025-26 academic year, the pantry served 848 unique clients through more than 5,000 visits and distributed approximately 29,000 pounds of food. Babcock said the pantry has seen an increase in visits as awareness of its services has grown since it opened in 2023.
“This donation couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, given that September is National Hunger Action Month,” said SUNY Oneonta President Alberto Cardelle. “It continues to bring attention to food insecurity that exists in our community, and it’s almost to the day of our three-year anniversary of opening the Food Pantry.”
The pantry is located in Room 6B on the bottom floor of Hunt Union and is open seven days a week from 1 to 6 p.m. during the Fall 2026 semester.
