Photo Courtesy of John McCarten/NY City Council
“We must continue to do everything we can to prevent a hunger crisis in New York City. No one should be food insecure in the richest city in the United States,” Council Speaker Johnson said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The City will provide $25 million in funding to emergency food providers across the five boroughs, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced Friday.
According to the pols, the funding is being allocated as part of a new, ongoing partnership between the de Blasio administration and the council to help providers deal with the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic.
The City’s Food Czar team, overseen by Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, has been doing direct outreach to pantries to understand their needs, and this funding will cover critical immediate operating expenses such as increased food costs, additional staffing, new safety supplies, and the ability to deliver food items directly to seniors who are now homebound. More than 800 organizations citywide, including pantries, mobile pantries, soup kitchens and non-profit organizations, may be eligible to receive emergency funding for these critical operating expenses. The Food Czar team, in partnership with New York City Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services, will begin outreach to let food pantries know how to access these newly available emergency funds.
“We thank the de Blasio administration for moving quickly on the council’s calls for help for food providers two weeks ago. This funding, combined with the $25 million the State pledged in response to the council’s request, will pay for over 19 million meals,” Johnson said. “We must continue to do everything we can to prevent a hunger crisis in New York City. No one should be food insecure in the richest city in the United States.”
The City also has several emergency food programs underway, including DOE grab-and-go meals at more than 400 sites across the five boroughs that are open to all, senior meal deliveries, and deliveries to vulnerable populations in need through nyc.gov/GetFood. The additional funding for emergency food providers will ensure that these organizations have the funding they need to stay open as long as the pandemic persists.
Additionally, State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) on Monday urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to immediately release the funding for food pantries serving the neediest individuals, including the $5 million in the 2020 budget’s Special Public Health Emergency Appropriation Account earmarked for the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty.
According to Addabbo, the Met Council continues to service their 225,000 existing clients and 40 regular food pantries while mobilizing emergency food to thousands of additional families facing new financial hardship during this pandemic. The Met Council has also worked out a pilot program partnership with the ride-share service Uber to deliver Kosher food directly to the homes of 500 homebound Holocaust survivors.
“We are facing extraordinary circumstances right now, and we need to make sure that organizations like Met Council are able to provide for their clients when they need it the most,” the senator said.“I am working to get the governor to release the funds that will allow Met Council to continue to serve their clients throughout this pandemic.”
