The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created a food crisis for many New Yorkers. Food Bank For New York City has seen an extreme rise in need for food and other basic resources, reporting that the City’s city’s soup kitchens and food pantries are experiencing a 50% increase in visitors. People out of work, vulnerable seniors, and families with children are turning to soup kitchens and food pantries during this challenging time, many for the first time. As the city’s largest hunger relief organization, Food Bank For New York City is on the ground and their trucks are on the road every day delivering food and essential items to New York’s most vulnerable. Since the start of their emergency response, Food Bank has provided more than 12 million meals – and counting – across New York City’s five boroughs.
Funding from the Scheinberg Relief Fund has been utilised to increase the capacity of Food Bank for New York City’s member agencies. Funds have been used to purchase critical equipment for soup kitchens and food pantries to enable them to keep staff and volunteers safe and serve clients efficiently and safely across the five boroughs. These resource give the agencies the confidence to continue their critical work while quickly serving as many people as possible, which is essential as the need continues to increase across the city.
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