About Our Programs

Fareground’s Free Marketplaces bring fresh, nourishing food directly to the community—because everyone deserves access to healthy meals. Each week, we distribute high-quality food, including fresh produce, frozen meats, pantry staples, and locally grown items, at accessible locations across Beacon, Newburgh, Wappingers, Fishkill, and Poughkeepsie. By reaching over 1,600 households annually, we help families put wholesome meals on the table—no questions asked.

No one should have to eat alone or go without a warm meal. Fareground Welcome Table is a free community dinner held every Friday in Beacon. These dinners are about more than food; they create a welcoming space where people can connect, share a meal, and experience dignity and inclusion. Prepared and served by volunteers, each meal is presented on china plates with tablecloths and real flatware, offering a family-style dining experience. Guests can also take meals home for loved ones, ensuring that more neighbors benefit. Approximately 125 meals are served each Friday.

For community members with limited mobility, accessing nutritious food can be a challenge. Fareground delivers tailored grocery packages twice a month to 70 homebound households, ensuring that seniors, individuals with disabilities, and others facing mobility barriers receive food that meets their specific dietary needs—whether that means soft foods, gluten-free options, plant-based meals, or other essentials.

Every day, perfectly good food goes to waste—but not on our watch. Fareground rescues thousands of pounds of high-quality surplus food from farms, grocery stores, food manufacturers, restaurants, caterers, nonprofits, and even households. This food is immediately shared with our neighbors or transformed into prepared meals. Anything that doesn’t meet our standards is composted, reducing waste and protecting our environment.

For those unable to attend our Free Marketplaces, Fareground stocks 14 Tiny Food Pantries (TFPs) and three Community Fridges across the region in partnership with local businesses and organizations. These self-serve pantries and fridges offer free, healthy food to anyone who needs it—available 24/7, no barriers, no judgment. We restock them multiple times a week, keep them clean, and invite the community to contribute, fostering a culture of mutual aid.

Children should never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Fareground’s youth programs provide weekend food boxes and summer meals filled with nourishing, easy-to-eat items like fresh fruit, yogurt, sandwiches, burritos, hard-boiled eggs, and granola bars. By ensuring that kids have access to healthy food during weekends and throughout the summer, we support 40-80 youth per week during peak need times.