18 APRIL 16, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Before the COVID-19 pandemic took a
hold of New York City, millions of New
Yorkers lived with food insecurity —
and now that the health crisis has left
millions more without work, the need
continues to grow.
But grassroots organizations across
Queens are taking on the challenge to
care for their neighbors.
Learn about some of the Queens
groups on the nutrition front lines
who are committed to serving the
most vulnerable communities in the
borough.
THE CONNECTED CHEF
Kim Calichio, founder of The Connected
Chef, is on a mission to show
people the lasting benefi ts of learning
basic cooking skills that’ll make them
feel comfortable in the kitchen and,
most importantly, encourage them
to create memories with their loved
ones.
The Connected Chef has a number of
programs, such as adult, kid and family
cooking classes, as well as STEAM
classes and summer camp.
But, once COVID-19 began to spread,
Calichio quickly shift ed gears.
The Astoria-based professional chef
understood the pandemic would impact
restaurant and food industry workers,
many of whom don’t qualify for unemployment
benefi ts or government aid
for a number of reasons. In an eff ort to
help some of the most vulnerable communities
in western Queens, Calichio
joined forces with Hellgate Farm to
start Lifeline Grocery Delivery.
They created a GoFundMe to fund
the initiative, and have raised more
than $7,000 in just two weeks.
Last week, they delivered their fi rst
slate of food packages to 18 families in
Queens. The packages included fresh
produce, such as fruits, vegetables,
grains and meat, all sourced from Hellgate
Farm’s urban, rooft op gardens as
well as other local food purveyors.
“It’s one thing to know it’s happening,
and another thing to call up these
families and have them talk to you.
One woman is cooking once a day
because she needs to make sure she
has enough to feed her family. That’s a
big emotional toll,” Calichio said. “We
want to expand, spread the word and
gain continued funding to be able to
do so. It’s beautiful to see how our community
has come together, but they’re
also strained. We need to make sure
people who have the money actually
give it.”
The Connected Chef is also off ering
virtual cooking classes starting at $11.
Calichio, a mother of two, notes it can
be a great activity for families (or for
parents who need to keep their kids
busy aft er remote learning).
For more information and to see all
their programing, visit www.theconnectedchef.
com.
If you’re a family in western Queens
who’s been economically aff ected by
COVID-19, fill out their form, “The
Connected Chef’s Lifeline Grocery
Delivery / La Entrega de Comestibles
Lifeline.”
CATERING FOR THE
HOMELESS
Crystal Wolfe founded Catering for
the Homeless well before COVID-19 —
and as NYC underwent the health crisis,
she created the COVID-19 Crisis Relief
Drive to gather and distribute food and
clothing to homeless and others living
with food insecurity in Queens.
In less than a month, CFTH attained
approximately 5,000 toiletry items
and 2,500 non-perishable food items
distributed in food pantries throughout
the borough; provided 3,000 meals and
bags of groceries to families, seniors,
disabled and home-bound residents;
and distributed 1,000 donated items
of food, socks and toiletries including
hand sanitizers to the homeless on the
streets, parks and subways.
Wolfe created a network of churches,
food pantries and organizations to
work with, but runs the whole operation
by herself voluntarily.
The Maspeth resident is also looking
to work with the Department of Education
in order to re-distribute their
food excess to the homeless and food
insecure.
“There is food going to waste in every
town in America that no one needs to
go hungry,” Wolfe said. “Getting this
food excess to those who need it can
Photos courtesy of Queens Together
solve, or greatly reduce, this hunger
crisis.”
For more information on Wolfe’s
services or to donate, visit www.cateringforthehomeless.
com.
QUEENS TOGETHER
Queens Together was created “on
the fl y” by former chef Jonathan Forgash
and Sunnyside Shines Business
Improvement District Director
Jamie-Faye Bean to help feed frontline
healthcare workers as well as other
emergency responders by partnering
with local, independent restaurants.
The organization, formerly known
as Astoria Together, is working with
the Queens borough president’s offi ce,
the Queens Economic Development
Corporation and many other local
groups to deliver free daily meals to
four hospitals, including Mount Sinai
Queens and Elmhurst Hospital.
“Even before COVID-19, we all thought
of them as heroes,” Forgash said. “Yes,
they get paid and aren’t starving, but
they are working brutal hours and
giving their all. They deserve a nice,
comforting meal.”
Forgash and Bean helped
start Queens Feeds Hospitals, a branch
of the national Frontline Foods, but
realized now was the perfect time to
launch a more local eff ort to help restaurants
thrive in the community.
“We quickly saw food insecurity was
huge issue in our communities, and we
were in a good position to expand this
into providing a lifeline to our local
businesses,” Bean said.
Queens Together has delivered more
than 3,000 meals in Queens, which
ACTS OF KINDNESS
These grassroots organizations are
Photos courtesy of Hungry Monk
/www.cater-ingforthehomeless.com
/www.thecon-nectedchef.com
/www.thecon-nectedchef.com
/www.thecon-nectedchef.com
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/www.cater-ingforthehomeless.com
/www.cater-ingforthehomeless.com
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