Hunger Free NYC opens in Bronx
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR AUG. 28-SEPT. 3, 2020 33
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Hunger Free New York
City, a division of Hunger
Free America, is making the
south Bronx a priority as
the nonpartisan direct service
and advocacy organization
has opened an offi ce
at 938 Sheridan Ave. earlier
this week.
Its intent is to assist more
New Yorkers with enrolling
in federally-funded food assistance
programs, including
the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP),
formerly known as the Food
Stamp Program, along with
other programs such as the
Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women,
Infants and Children.
This new offi ce opens as 38
percent of city parents report
they had skipped meals or cut
portions for their children
because they lacked enough
money for food in April.
“With the Bronx having
been particularly hard hit
by the COVID-19 pandemic
and subsequent economic
collapse, we decided one of
the most effective courses of
action we could take was to
open an offi ce where there is
the most need,” said Hunger
Free America CEO Joel Berg
at the grand opening of the
new offi ce this afternoon.
According to the New York
State Department of Labor,
the Bronx’s unemployment
rate was nearly 25 percent in
June, fi ve percent above the
city average.
Prior to the pandemic, the
Bronx was also ranked as the
city’s hungriest borough with
nearly one in four residents
suffering from food insecurity
in 2016 through 2018.
As the new offi ce opened
on Monday, Berg was joined
by the NYC Food Czar team
including DSNY Commissioner
Kathryn Garcia, , Director
of the Mayor’s Offi ce of
Food Policy Kate MacKenzie,
Bronx Deputy Borough President
Marricka Scott-McFadden,
Councilmember Vanessa
Gibson, and New York State
Senator Luis Sepúlveda.
“New Yorkers are struggling,
and it is more important
than ever that our
neighbors can easily access
benefi ts like SNAP, WIC
and P-EBT. This new offi ce,
funded in part by the City of
New York, will help people
in the Bronx connect to the
support they need,”said Garcia,
adding that New Yorkers
can learn more about benefi ts
at nyc.gov.
While the Robin Hood
foundation was a major benefactor
for Hunger Free NYC’s
new offi ce, other allocations
came in part from a package
of emergency food funds allocated
earlier this year by the
New York City Council and
the City of New York.
“These programs have
been historically under-utilized,
but with more and more
families experiencing economic
hardship and hunger
due to COVID-19, it’s essential
for us to increase our outreach
and help as many New
Yorkers as possible, especially
vulnerable immigrant
populations,” Berg said.
Hunger Free NYC encourages
all New Yorkers who
believe they may qualify for
SNAP to contact Benefi ts Specialist
Gira Peguero at 646-
350-0353 for help in English or
Spanish and to contact WIC
Benefi ts Specialist Andrea
Quintana at 646-453-7064 for
information about WIC.
Courtesy of Hunger Free America
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