For many, the holidays are a time to gather and create meals and memories together. Yet one in seven New Yorkers don’t have access to enough affordable, nutritious food. As we celebrate with loved ones, we know that giving back is one of the great joys and privileges of the season. Consider a gift to address hunger and food insecurity, and help our neighbors come to the table now and throughout the year.
Anchoring Our Food Distribution Network
The following agencies are among the mainstay providers of our region’s emergency and ongoing food provision services; each one plays a unique role within this delivery system.
City Harvest is New York’s first and largest “food rescue” organization, ensuring that perfectly good food does not get thrown out and wasted. It collects food from businesses like restaurants, farms, grocers, and manufacturers, and delivers it to food pantry and soup kitchen partners across the five boroughs.
Long Island Cares supplies more than 350 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community organizations on Long Island and runs programs that educate the public on the root causes of hunger.
Episcopal Charities of New York addresses hunger and poverty in a 10-county region that includes New York City, Westchester, and the Hudson Valley. Its food pantries and community kitchens, along with its farm-to-pantry, wellness, employment, and enrichment programs, serve over one million people each year.
Bringing Food to Neighbors in Need
The “last mile” in emergency food distribution—collecting food from individual volunteers and small businesses and getting it to harder-to-reach communities—is an ongoing challenge. Often this work falls to smaller neighborhood-based and volunteer-led groups. The nonprofits below are some recent grantees that expand providers’ capacity to reach all New Yorkers by improving access to fresh, healthy food, as well as food tailored to individual needs.
Community Action Southold Town (CAST) provides food pantries and other critical safety net services to low-income individuals and families on the North Fork of Long Island.
God’s Love We Deliver prepares and delivers nutritious meals for people who cannot shop or cook for themselves, including medically tailored meals for those who are sick or coping with a chronic health condition.
Hillside Food Outreach mobilizes a network of volunteers in Westchester to help deliver groceries and provide food assistance to those who are unable to access traditional food pantries, including older adults and people who are low-income, chronically ill, or disabled.
Met Council is a social services organization that serves people struggling in the face of poverty and hunger. It operates America’s largest kosher food pantry as well as one of New York’s largest halal emergency food programs.
West Side Campaign Against Hunger was the first food pantry in the country to use a customer-choice, supermarket-style model, affording clients a more dignified experience and reducing waste. Today, it serves New Yorkers through its main location on the Upper West Side and a mobile market program that brings food to neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx.
This list is not exhaustive. There are many incredible nonprofits helping to make our city a better place for all; we are highlighting a few that may not be on your radar, but please reach out to our philanthropic advising department at info@nyct-cfi.org if you would like recommendations tailored to your charitable goals.