City Harvest Helping Hungry New Yorkers Get Food During COVID-19 Crisis; 'This Is A Life-Saver'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - As the coronavirus pandemic lingers on, more and more New Yorkers are finding it hard to get ahold of healthy food, but at least one nonprofit is trying to meet the demand.
CBS2's Vanessa Murdock got an inside look at how City Harvest is working to meet demand.
"That saves me a lot of worry," one person said. "I thank you too. This is a life-saver."
- For more information, visit CityHarvest.org.
Boxes filled to the brim with fresh produce, carrots, onions, apples, cucumbers - non-perishables too. All the food rescued by City Harvest and put in the hands of those who need it most.
ARE YOU RUNNING OUT OF FOOD?
- Free food for New York City residents via NYC.gov/GetFood
- Food Banks Across New York State
- Food Banks In New York City
- Food Banks On Long Island
- Food Banks In New Jersey
- Food Banks In Connecticut
- Applying for SNAP Assistance in New York
- Applying for SNAP Assistance in New Jersey
- Applying for SNAP Assistance in Connecticut
Director of Food Access and Network Capacity Rosanna Robbins says City Harvest distributes food to hundreds of community food programs throughout all five boroughs.
The need is greater now than ever - millions need help.
"We're finding that a lot of people who haven't traditionally had to go to food pantries and soup kitchens are going now," Robbins said.
By the end of the fiscal year - June 30 - City Harvest will have delivered 74 million pounds of food. That's 10 million more than expected.
"Everyone's working on overdrive, for sure," Robbins said.
To meet demand, City Harvest crafted 19 new partnerships that help with emergency food distribution. One site is an unused grocery store owned by Beam Living.
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"We had an idea, we cleared out the space, we partnered with City Harvest and we've been making it happen since the first week of April," said Beam Living CEO Kelly Vohs.
Every Monday, City Harvest transports a truckload of food. Volunteers then repack it to safely serve the public.
"I felt like it was a time that if you can do something, you need to do something," said volunteer Meera Mason-Sukrha.
This week, 2,000 boxes get loaded up at the Beam Harvest location alone. Some get put on pallets for transfer, others get hand delivered to neighbors.
"You are doing a great job. God bless you all," said a recipient.
A blessing of fresh food, when many would otherwise have to go without.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
