FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 7, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
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LIC pantry to provide 2,000 western
Queens families with fresh produce
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two local food organizations, Queens
Together and Th e Connected Chef, have
partnered with Brighter Bites NYC to
launch a new western Queens food pantry
with fresh produce. Th e initiative will
safely provide 2,000 families throughout
western Queens with fresh produce, complete
with fruits and vegetables, at a time
when food insecurity in the community is
at an all-time high.
“Between loss of income, fears related to
immigration status, and the risks associated
with leaving home at this time, many
families are not able to access fresh, nourishing
food in adequate quantities,” said
Jamie-Faye Bean, co-founder of Queens
Together. “We are so gratifi ed to have
found this solution for a great program
to continue an essential service to Queens
families, and we are actively seeking to
expand the program to include more
recipients.”
Th e partnership took shape in a week,
aft er Brighter Bites reached out to Queens
Together for help.
Brighter Bites’ regular distribution of
fresh produce to families in Queens was
no more due to the closure of schools
amid the COVID-19 crisis. By April 24,
Queens Together — which was originally
created by Bean and chef Jonathan
Forgash to feed frontline workers while
helping local restaurants stay in business
— created a grassroots solution with Th e
Connected Chef to provide 2,000 marginalized
families with fresh produce.
At the same time, they’re re-employing
restaurant workers to pack produce
and make deliveries. A few weeks prior,
Th e Connected Chef, founded by Astoriabased
chef Kim Calichio, began their own
initiative, Lifeline Grocery Delivery, to
serve fresh produce to vulnerable families
in Queens.
“When I started Th e Connected Chef, I
knew I wanted to use food to bring people
together. Community has always been
at the heart of our mission,” Calichio told
QNS. “What feels so right about this collaboration
with Queens Together and Brighter
Bites is that they understand the importance
of community connection. Th at’s why
this work is so powerful — it involves so
many levels of engagement in a time when
we all feel disconnected. And we’re doing
that with food. It’s quite beautiful.”
It’s because of Th e Connected Chef’s
experience with local food purveyors and
delivery systems for families in need that
Queens Together knew they needed to
become partners.
Th eir distribution began on Tuesday,
April 28, from the Plaxall Gallery
warehouse in Long Island City.
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas joined
them as they set up.
“It is so great to see my neighbors live
in the spirit of public service,” Simotas
said. “Queens Together, Th e Connected
Chef and Brighter Bites are true examples
of neighbors helping neighbors. As the
novel coronavirus advances, food justice
is more crucial now than ever. It is inspiring
to witness the sense of community
and solidarity that New Yorkers continuously
exhibit in diffi cult times.”
To learn more about the eff ort, visit
www.queenstogether.org.
Organizations across borough donate to
support Commonpoint Queens’ food pantry
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Commonpoint Queens is thanking
Queensboro Football Club, Zion
Episcopal Church and St. Astasia’s Council
#5911 Knights of Columbus for their support
of the organization’s ongoing eff orts
to provide groceries from their Digital
Food Pantry for homebound seniors and
immunocompromised individuals.
“Words cannot express how grateful
we are to our local community organizations
for standing with us and supporting
our eff orts to get food into the
homes of older adults in our community,”
Commonpoint Queens CEO Danielle
Ellman said. “Community coming together
to support our vulnerable inspires us
in our commitment to serving all people
who come to us.”
Commonpoint Queens’ food pantry at
108-13 67th Rd. in Forest Hills is open
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m.
An auxiliary food pantry is now open
for curbside pickup at the Tanenbaum
Family Pool at 58-25 Little Neck Pkwy. in
Little Neck Monday through Friday from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
To schedule a pickup email vovalle@
commonpointqueens.org or call 718-
423-6111. Meanwhile, Councilman Barry
Grodenchik joined the Commonpoint
Queens Sam Field Center in Little Neck to
deliver homebound seniors in Little Neck.
Like most centers, the Commonpoint
center has shut its doors, but not its business
of serving the community. Th e center
Photos courtesy of Commonpoint Queens
has delivered more than 20,000 meals
to 22 neighborhoods.
“It was my honor to volunteer for
Commonpoint Queens delivering food to
residents of eastern Queens,” Grodenchik
said. “I thank Commonpoint for the tens
of thousands of meals that it has delivered
to seniors across Queens County and for
all that the agency continues to do. I have
been a leading advocate for emergency
food throughout my tenure in the council
and I pledge to continue to work toward
securing the funds that help feed every
New Yorker who needs food assistance.”
Grodenchik tested positive for the coronavirus
aft er having been sick since March
13. He was in isolation with his family for
the duration of his illness but has made a
full recovery.
First Central Savings Bank sponsors ‘thankyou’
breakfast for health care workers
BY QNS STAFF
First Central
Savings Bank is
helping to feed
frontline health care
workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The Astoria
branch of First
Central Savings
Bank (FCSB), in
collaboration with
Brooklyn Bagel &
Coffee Company,
delivered food
to Mount Sinai
Hospital in Astoria.
Mt. Sinai, like other
hospitals in Queens
and throughout the city, have tightened
entrance protocols, and workers might
be less inclined to leave the premises,
making a delivered meal even more welcome.
“Th ey are putting the needs of others
Courtesy of First Central Savings Bank
before their own and we just want
to show, in some small way, how appreciative
we are for the commitment they
show,” said Michael Serao, chief administrative
offi cer at FCSB. “We are glad to
play a small part.”
Photos courtesy of Queens Together
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