Hurricane Sandy
City Harvest has been hard at work providing food and other supplies to those affected by Hurricane Sandy while continuing our work rescuing and delivering food to some 600 emergency food programs throughout New York City.
Please note that City Harvest is only accepting donations of food.
If you would like to make a food donation of 100 pounds or more please call 1-800-77HARVEST to schedule a pickup. Donations of nonperishable food under 100 pounds can be dropped off at any police precinct or fire station or at any Modells Sporting Goods location.
If you are an agency in need of food or other assistance please contact Keltus Campo at 646-412-0705 or email kcampo@cityharvest.org.
If you are interested in volunteering with City Harvest please email Volunteer Services.
If you would like to make a financial donation please click here or call 1-800-77HARVEST. Every dollar donated helps provide 4 pounds of food for New Yorkers in need.
Hurricane Sandy Updates
December 20th Update:
As the year draws to a close, I thank you for your support of City Harvest. The last months of this year have been especially difficult ones for many New Yorkers and we appreciate your help in keeping City Harvest trucks filled with food for our neighbors in need.
In the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, our staff procured millions of pounds of shelf-stable foods that required little or no preparation to accommodate people without electricity and those living in shelters or temporary housing. At the same time, we continued deliveries to our network of agencies throughout the five boroughs to ensure that they had sufficient supplies for the New Yorkers who depend upon them. By the end of November, we had rescued approximately 6.6 million pounds of food, double what we had originally scheduled for the month.
High numbers of New Yorkers were turning to emergency food before Sandy hit, and we are hearing from agencies across the city that the need has increased significantly since the hurricane. Agencies outside of Sandy's direct path are feeling its impact also, as they continue to serve more people, operate as shelters and in some cases expand their services to affected areas.
Over the next several weeks, we will continue our hurricane relief operations alongside our daily deliveries to soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the city. The City Harvest agency relations staff has identified a group of some 17 emergency food providers in our network that are located in areas impacted by the hurricane. In addition, we will also make deliveries to some 15 additional relief sites that have emerged to help meet the need in the Rockaways, Coney Island, Staten Island, and Red Hook.
This overall increase in demand for emergency food is likely to continue beyond the holiday season, when many people displaced by the storm find new homes. City Harvest will remain on the ground, in close contact with agencies and relief sites to best meet their needs, and do what we do best - deliver good food to where it is needed most.
On behalf of the City Harvest staff, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and a healthy new year.
December 4th Update:
With city-wide recovery projected to be a lengthy process, much remains unknown but one thing for certain is that City Harvest continues its daily operations, doing everything we can to put good food on the table for hungry New Yorkers. Our routes to emergency relief areas have been challenging, due to scattered debris, abandoned vehicles and piles of sand, but the determination of our City Harvest staff and the agency volunteers collecting and distributing food is extraordinary.
Over the past couple of weeks, City Harvest has distributed over 760,000 pounds of food throughout the five boroughs to our network of agencies as well as hurricane relief drops. Some of our agencies are reporting increases as dramatic as 2,000 additional meals served weekly and in other cases a 60% increase in the amount of families coming in for emergency food. Some limited-capacity agencies have taken to the streets to meet the need they cannot handle inside their facility. More than half of the 760,000 pounds was delivered to Hurricane Sandy relief drops in Coney Island, Red Hook, and the Rockaways, areas still recovering from the storm where people are still without hot water or electricity.
Our work has been enabled by the power of New Yorkers who have generously donated their time and money. Nearly 50 dedicated volunteers diligently prepared almost 3,000 pantry bags over the course of just 2 days. Swiftly loaded onto our trucks, these pantry bags are specifically designed for easy distribution at food pantries for families in need.
From weekly Mobile Markets in low-income neighborhoods to deliveries of turkeys for those who might have gone without one for Thanksgiving, City Harvest is on the road day and night to help ensure the holidays can be bright for all New Yorkers.
November 20th Update:
As we enter the holiday season, City Harvest is doing everything that we can to put good food on the table for hungry New Yorkers. This week our trucks will deliver hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to emergency food programs across with city, including 11,000 turkeys. Our holiday Mobile Markets in Bed Stuy and the South Bronx will provide 1,000 households with much-needed fresh fruits and vegetables in advance of Thanksgiving.
Since Friday, City Harvest has accepted 11 loads of food delivered to our Food Rescue Facility in Queens. From peanut butter, to baby food, to carrots from Canada, City Harvest has received the support of donors both locally and from across national borders to help hungry New Yorkers in this time of great need. Today we received two tractor trailers filled with 3,000 meal boxes (containing 36,000 meals) from the Red Cross, which will be delivered tomorrow to distribution sites in the Rockaways and Coney Island.
We are also working with our restaurant partners to secure donations of prepared, hot food that is so needed right now by those who are still dealing with the after effects of the storm. On Saturday, Dinosaur BBQ and Damascas Bread served 200 meals at St. Francis de Sales in Rockaway and Marco Canora of Hearth distributed soup at the Graves End NYCHA site in Brooklyn.
Over the weekend, volunteers at the Food Rescue Facility repacked large food donations into over 7,500 pantry bags distributed to hungry families in our city. The pantry bags included a range of food including tuna, oatmeal, soup, and protein bars. A big thank you to all the donors and volunteers who have helped make City Harvest's work possible!
November 16th Update:
City Harvest will continue our food rescue work through the weekend, bringing food to the New Yorkers who need it most. Across the five boroughs, there is still much work to be done, and too many New Yorkers who are hungry and in need of emergency food.
Between yesterday and today, City Harvest received 17 loads of food, including ready-to-eat meals, potatoes, canned goods, cereal, bananas, stuffing, beets, granola, and water. With twenty-six vehicles on the road yesterday, we were able to distribute nearly 140,000 pounds of food to hungry New Yorkers. This is approximately 40,000 more than City Harvest typically distributes in one day, a feat which is attributed to additional resources we have sourced to react swiftly and effectively to the need created in our city in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Yesterday in Queens, members of nearly 400 households joined us for our inaugural Mobile Market, a distribution of free produce in an open-air style market. More than 12,000 pounds of resh produce, including carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and apples was provided to residents who often find it difficult to afford or source good quality fresh food in their neighborhood. In addition to local residents, some came from Far Rockaway to receive the much-needed fresh food.
We are continuing to see an outpouring of support from our fellow New Yorkers, with volunteers at the Food Rescue Facility every day of the week. Horizon Media arrived at our on Wednesday, each staff member carrying food donations which totaled half a skid worth of food! The staff went on to spend 9 hours at the facility packing food into pantry bags for hungry families. Other groups that have stepped up to help repack bags for Hurricane relief include Credit Suisse, the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to help with donations of food, time and dollars – we couldn't do it without you!
November 15th Update:
In addition to our daily deliveries to soup kitchens and food pantries across the five boroughs, City Harvest is making emergency food drop-offs in especially hard hit areas in Staten Island, Coney Island and Red Hook in Brooklyn, and Breezy Point and Rockaway in Queens. Our Food Rescue Facility has been busy since the storm, receiving double the number of food donations we would normally receive each day.
Yesterday we received 10 loads of donations, including tuna, sweet potatoes, and yogurt. Volunteers have been at our Food Rescue Facility nonstop, helping to repack much-needed food into pantry bags including water, cereal bars, beef jerky, sunflower seeds, cereal, soup, canned spaghetti & meatballs, and tuna. With our staff at full capacity, the generous help of volunteers has been crucial to City Harvest's ability to get the volume of donations we have been receiving out of our facility and on the road to where it's needed most immediately. Because of this collaborative effort, City Harvest was able to distribute over 176,000 pounds of food yesterday to hungry New Yorkers.
Today, City Harvest will deliver 25 skids of pantry bags, fresh fruit, and canned goods to 6 relief locations in Far Rockaway. We will also make drop offs at 4 relief locations in Brooklyn, which will include 24 skids of pantry bags and fresh fruit.
November 13th Update:
City Harvest has now delivered more than 1.5 million pounds of food throughout the city to emergency food programs and those directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. As the city's response evolves, City Harvest is doing everything we can to support hungry New Yorkers and connect them to the food and resources they need.
Saturday in the Bronx, City Harvest distributed nearly 22,000 pounds of onions, bananas, pears, potatoes and beets at our Mobile Market. These much-needed free distributions of produce will continue this week in Washington Heights, Queens, and Staten Island.
Between yesterday and today, City Harvest received 17 loads of donated carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, bell peppers, coconut water, frozen soup, hot dogs, deli meats and peanut butter. Other donations came through Canstruction participants who built sculptures completely out of cans, even though the annual competition was cancelled due to the storm. The cans donated from these gracious NYC companies totaled 6,500 pounds. Generous Greenmarket customers bought an extra bag of produce this week to donate to City Harvest, which has so far totaled 7,600 pounds of donations!
Once again, City Harvest could not do its work without the support of volunteers. Yesterday, volunteers spent 9 hours repacking over 37,000 pounds of food donations at our facility. This food was repackaged into family-sized pantry bags and included beef jerky, sunflower seeds, cereal, water, coconut water, rice, black beans, baked beans, soups, canned spaghetti and meatballs, corn, and Healthy Choice pasta meals. This food was quickly distributed to emergency feeding programs in areas of great need in Brooklyn and Staten Island.
November 12, 2012 Update:
City Harvest was busy all weekend moving food to our network of agencies as well as making special drops to locations where food is most needed by those affected by Sandy. Volunteers filled our facility repack room on Saturday, breaking down large donations of food into smaller individual bags of mixed, shelf-stable product.
These pantry bags are being dropped off at distribution sites like the one that was organized at MCU Park in Coney Island this past Saturday. At this site, where thousands of people gathered to receive food and other supplies, City Harvest distributed pallets of bananas and bags of shelf stable food to local residents. In addition to sending people home with a supply of fruit and other food items, we brought in a catering truck and served hot soup and bread to people – many of whom were still living without heat.
November 9th Update:
City Harvest continues to use all of the resources available to us to ensure good food is getting to where it is needed most in New York City. Over the past few days, City Harvest has received nearly 20 loads of sweet potatoes, yogurt, bananas, granola bars, baby food, and peanut butter, which were immediately distributed to agencies in Red Hook, Coney Island, and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Our Food Rescue Facility is running at full capacity, with staff and volunteers breaking down large donations of food to load onto one of our 21 trucks for delivery day and night. Since Wednesday, more than 300,000 pounds of food has been delivered to those in need across the City.
In just two days, over 130 volunteers – including Chelsea Clinton and friends - have donated their time to repack foods such as red beans, chick peas, mangos, green beans, tuna, and water into nearly 6,000 pantry bags for distribution to families at emergency food programs and relief distribution sites throughout the City. Yesterday at our Mobile Market in Staten Island, staff and volunteers distributed pumpkins, pears, beets, white potatoes and bananas free of charge to people in need.
We are so grateful for the generosity of food donors near and far. City Harvest received 500 sandwiches, milks, and cereals from ABC Kitchen, as well as 300 loaves of bread and 300 cases of canned fruit, soups, crackers—all way from Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Maryland!
Our recipient agencies are working diligently to distribute the food they have received from City Harvest in areas that have been hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. St. John's Bread & Life has been operating a mobile soup kitchen and the Metropolitan Council is distributing Kosher food to those who observe Jewish Dietary Law.
November 7, 2012 Update:
The activity at our Food Rescue Facility continues to be high and the loading docks are constantly in motion receiving large food deliveries that are broken down and loaded onto one of our 21 trucks for delivery. Yesterday a total of 170,000 pounds of food including pretzels, canned fruit, sweet potatoes, yogurt and water was delivered to agencies and special hurricane relief distribution sites throughout the five boroughs. With 10 more loads expected to be delivered tomorrow our trucks and drivers will stay busy transporting this much needed food to those in need.
We have also started running daily volunteer repacks where large food donations are broken down and repacked into smaller individual bags for distribution at hurricane relief sites. Yesterday nearly 100 volunteers packed nearly 2,000 bags of shelf-stable food items that will be distributed to sites in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Rockaways.
November 6, 2012 Update:
Yesterday our facility was open and receiving food at 6AM. A total of 10 loads of food were received including bananas, potatoes, beets, yogurt, cabbage and cereal. We expect to receive another 8 loads today including much needed canned good and baby food.
We also started picking up special large donations of prepared food – enough for 200-300 people - from restaurant partners including Le Bernardin, Benchmark, Hecho en Dumbo, Oceana, Victor's Café and more. These meals will be much appreciated by our agency partners who are seeing increased numbers of people looking for hot meals.
To accommodate the increased volume of food that is coming through our facility, we have rented additional trucks and forklifts as well as hired temporary staff to keep our trucks loaded and moving to where the food is most needed. We now have a total of 21 trucks on the road including 2 tractor trailers. As of today, we are expanding our hours to 10 pm which will help us take in even more food.
In addition to food deliveries to 124 of our regular agency partners we made special drops of water and pantry bags of shelf-stable items like peanut butter, soup, cereal and tuna to:
Gowanus Houses, Brooklyn
Haber Houses, Coney Island
NYCHA Houses, Far Rockaway
We are continuously amazed at the generosity of so many people who have stepped forward to offer their time, funds and food to help keep our operations moving. Since last Wednesday we have moved nearly 900,000 pounds of food to those who need it most. Thank you to everyone who has made that possible!
November 5, 2012 Update:
City Harvest was busy over the weekend keeping food and other needed supplies flowing to agencies and special distribution sites throughout the City.
- Food continues to come in and we have more than 20 tractor trailer loads of food and supplies scheduled to make deliveries to our facility between now and Wednesday of this week.
- Despite the fact that most of our fleet of trucks was impaired due to flooding at our Food Rescue Facility, we have secured rental vehicles and have 18 trucks on the road today delivering food throughout the 5 boroughs.
- Due to continued power issues at our Food Rescue Facility we were forced to relocate thousands of turkeys that were being stored in our freezer for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thankfully we were able to secure alternate storage space where they will be held until they are distributed to agencies later this month.
- UPDATE: Full power was restored to our Facility on Sunday restoring our freezer and cooler as well as making our loading docks fully functional again.
- On Saturday more than 70 volunteers gathered at our Food Rescue Facility to repack more than 40,000 pounds of food into individual bags for distribution at centers servicing those impacted by the storm. Thank you to staff from BNY Mellon, Macquarie, Bloomberg LP, Pimco, and other corporate partners who pitched in to help.
- On Sunday we delivered supplies, including food bags packed on Saturday, to a distribution held at the Visitation Church in Red Hook. Deliveries of food were also provided to several sites on Staten Island.
- We continue to receive an outpouring of support and requests for how individuals and companies can help.
- To make a financial donation to support our work click here
- For information about volunteer opportunities click here
- For information about making running a food drive click here
November 2nd update:
In addition to deliveries to our regular network of agencies City Harvest is working with FEMA to provide pallets of yogurt, bananas and coconut water to distribution sites in some of the hardest hit areas of our city. Yesterday we made deliveries to two locations on Staten Island:
Mount Loretto
6581 Hylan Blvd.
Staten Island, NY 10309
Miller Field
New Dorp Lane
600 New Dorp Lane Staten Island, NY 10306
Today trucks are loaded and making deliveries to the following locations:
Coney Island
MCU Park parking lot
1904 Surf Avenue
Ft. Tilden (Breezy Point)
Beach Channel Boulevard
Rockaway
Duane Reade
B116 Beach Channel Drive
Brooklyn
Park Slope Armory
More than 500 people, primarily senior evacuees, were served here this morning. Many of them adhere to a kosher diet and the fruit and coconut water we provided were especially welcome.
Manhattan (Chelsea)
Fulton Houses
9th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets
