‘This is the most diffi cult year’
Orgs fi ghting hunger crisis rely on private donors as federal aid runs dry
BY BEN VERDE
Organizations combating
the hunger crisis are running
out of cash amid unprecedented
need, and need help from supporters
to stay open, according
to the head of the country’s
largest Jewish charity.
As the COVID-19 pandemic
drags on into the holiday
season, demand only
grows, according to Met Council’s
executive director David
Greenfi eld, who says that as
the rate of unemployed New
Yorkers stagnates and food
pantries shutter due to a lack
of federal funding, a higher
burden is placed on those that
remain open.
“Because of the failure of
the federal government to act
we’ve actually seen the situation
get exacerbated,” said
Greenfi eld, a former Brooklyn
councilman who is also
the Met Council’s chief executive
offi cer. “This is the most
diffi cult year we’ve seen. I’ve
had employees who have been
with me for 50 years, and they
tell me they have never seen
anything like this before.”
With no stimulus from the
federal government since the
early days of the pandemic
and federal food programs
running dry, groups fi ghting
food insecurity have had to
lean heavily on private donors
to keep the lights on — and
with no end to the city’s hunger
crisis in sight.
“You have to lean on the
people in New York City who
have resources and who are
generous, that’s honestly the
only way to do it right now,”
said Greenfi eld.
A recent donation from
real estate investor Jane Goldman
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has enabled Met Council
to provide $250,000 of boxed
meals through the Thanksgiving
season, while smaller organizations
have relied on donations
from their community
to stay afl oat.
Brooklyn Relief Kitchen,
an all-volunteer effort that
started up at the beginning
of the pandemic cooking hot
meals for various food distributors
has come to rely on its
GoFundMe page — which has
brought in over $50,000 thus
far — and on donations from
other community groups to
purchase food.
“We’re defi nitely feeling
the pinch because there is less
food being supplied by local,
state, and federal agencies so
we’re relying more on donors
to actually purchase the food
that we’re distributing,” said
Andy Wandzilak, a co-founder
of the Relief Kitchen.
Farmers to Families, a federal
program that used to provide
the Relief Kitchen with
hundreds of food boxes a week,
recently cut back operations
in the New York area, and now
only delivers their suppliers
one weekly shipment instead
of two, placing the onus on
community organizations to
make up the difference.
The closure of long-standing
food pantries due to budget
shortfalls has also inundated
new volunteer-run operations.
When a food pantry in
Flatbush shuttered, the Relief
Kitchen’s distribution spot at
St. Marks Church saw its demand
double overnight.
To keep feeding those in
need, Greenfi eld said, the fi ght
against hunger needs more
help than ever.
“We’d love for you to give to
Met Council, we have tremendous
reach, but if you have a
neighborhood organization
and you’d rather give to them,
just give,” he said. “For those
people who have the ability to
give, they have to understand
that now their help is needed
more than ever before.”
A recent food distribution event in Sea Gate. MetCouncil
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