Queens Together, Dominico-American Society
of Queens host pop-up food drive in Corona
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
Queens Together and the
Dominico-American Society
of Queens (DASQ) joined
forces with El Gauchito and
La Pequeña Colombia restaurants
to serve warm meals and
distribute USDA food boxes
to 100 families in Corona on
Tuesday, March 16.
Queens Together, a grassroots
restaurant and food advocacy
organization, delivered
375 USDA food boxes — which
were donated by North Brooklyn
Angels in Williamsburg
— filled with produce, dairy
and meat products for families
and individuals in need of food
aid.
Queens Together and
DASQ have been at the forefront
of feeding the most vulnerable
New Yorkers since
COVID-19 brought the city to a
standstill one year ago and led
to the highest unemployment
rate since the great recession
in 2007, leaving many New
Yorkers to seek help from food
pantries.
Jonathan Forgash, cofounder
and executive director
of Queens Together, which has
distributed 50,000 meals and
grocery bags since the onset of
the pandemic, noted that the
pop-up food drive was a grassroots
effort.
Forgash reached out to
Ralph Trionfo, a wine and liquor
distributor and Corona
native, to figure out where to
hold the pop-up food drive to
distribute the food boxes he
received from North Brooklyn
Angels. Trionfo connected
him with José Tejada, the
executive director of DASQ
in Corona, one of the neighborhoods
hardest hit by the
pandemic.
While mothers with their
young children, seniors, men
and women stood in a line that
spanned around the block,
Tejada shared that his organization
has supported the community
with food drives since
April 2020. He said that the
situation was dire since they
were at the “epicenter of the
epicenter” of the pandemic.
“We have people in the
community who are working
low-paying jobs and we
have multiple generations
Organizers of the pop-up food drive, volunteers and NYPD officers pose for a photo outside The Dominico-American Society of Queens.
living together. It was very
hard. Many, many people also
work in the hospitality industry
that was hit the worst,
so there is a lot of unemployment,”
Tejada explained.
Trionfo also got Jack Daniels
and Turquoise Life on
board to help sponsor the restaurant
meals prepared by El
Gauchito and La Pequeña. He
said both restaurants were his
childhood “go-to” places for
Argentinian and Colombian
food.
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2021
While he didn’t disclose the
amount the companies donated,
he said that he was happy
with the results. The restaurants
delivered 50 warm meals
each — El Gauchito made
Argentinian steak, rice and
beans, and La Pequeña Colombia
made chicken wings and
vegetables.
For Trionfo, who has been
working with Forgash and
Tejada throughout the pandemic,
the food drives are a
“win, win, win” situation.
“So not only are we supporting
the hospitality industry
with the restaurants
that stayed open throughout
COVID, they’re also working
with their community, which
are their customers,” Trionfo
said. “We’re supporting everybody,
and I think that Jose has
a great outreach program and
Jonathan with Queens Together
has all these pallets of food
to give out to my neighbors.
It’s a great thing.”
Somnath Ghimire, president
Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
of the GP Koirala Foundation
America in Woodside,
came with five volunteers to
help with food distribution.
He stressed the importance of
working with and supporting
other organizations during
this challenging time.
GP Koirala has distributed
more than 55,000 meals since
April 2020, Ghimire said. He’s
concerned that the USDA food
donations might expire soon.
“We desperately need food
for people in every community,”
Ghimire said. “It has never
been like this in my 26 years
in Queens. So, this is very sad.
We are trying our best.”
Despite the catastrophic impact
of the pandemic, Forgash
also saw the silver lining.
“It’s been a devastating
year for people, for businesses,
for families. But the most
amazing thing for me, personally,
as a human being, has
been to see the community in
action,” he said. “Thats the
power of community. I know
it’s a terrible time, but it’s really
uplifting. No politics, no
real organizing, just people
being either given an opportunity
or asking how they can
help.”
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