DECEMBER 2020 I BOROMAG.COM 17
to be. Everybody deserves food that is
fresh and local and we want everybody
to get that feeling,” Calichio said.
To boost Lifeline Groceries off the
ground, the couple created a GoFund-
Me page and raised over $10,000 within
two weeks. The fundraiser recently surpassed
$40,000 in donations.
This fall, Calichio and Bravo-Pavia began
offering a community-based food
package that’s available for purchase
to all Queens residents, both as a way
to raise funds for the Lifeline boxes and
to ensure everyone is able to access
nutritious, local food. Locals can pay on
a sliding scale of about $20 to $50 per
week based on economic ability. These
community-based boxes, which contain
the same locally sourced food that
is in the Lifeline boxes, are available for
delivery in most areas of Queens or for
pickup at Long Island City and Astoria
locations.
“Community boxes are our answer
to food equity and families to have access
to healthy food. If you can pay for
a box for $40, you are opting into this
extreme sense of community. Anybody
who can purchase a box for $35
or more is really giving back to this equity,”
Calichio said. “You need to get
groceries anyway. It’s wonderful food
you can cook and it’s an easy way to
support.”
In addition to receiving local produce
in the community-based boxes,
customers can choose add-ons from
Queens-based vendors like eggs or
a whole organic chicken from Plaza
Meat Market of Astoria, hot sauce from
Hellgate Farm and a loaf of bread from
Bench Flour Bakers based in Astoria.
The community boxes fulfills so
many needs and brings the program
full circle by giving to the local
economy and acting outside of factory
farming. All proceeds from the
community-based packages go to the
Lifeline Grocery program, putting nutrient
dense food on a family’s table,
providing wages for The Connected
Chef’s 10 employees, and raising
funds for local farms and vendors.
There is currently a waiting list to receive
free Lifeline Groceries. There are
many families who have been with the
program since March and others who
transition out of the program once they
go back to work. Calichio and Bravo-Pavia
are hoping to get people off the waiting
list as soon as more funds are raised.
“Putting myself in that position where
I have no job, no money, no family, so
what do you do? There is literally nothing.
We didn’t have a lot either and we
were very much in the same situation,
but I have family nearby. We had a connection
to our community and our community
had resources. This is an issue
where we need to come together and
do something about it,” Calichio said.
To support the Lifeline Grocery
program, visit https://www.gofundme.
com/f/lifeline-food-packagesfor
families.
Photos by Kim Max
The Connected Chef
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