City Harvest Programs » Advocacy
Food Programs
City Harvest partners with many public and private institutions with the goal of making more quality food available to people in need. Our policy work focuses on expanding the reach of feeding programs and to help support the health of participants.
Emergency Feeding Programs
City Harvest delivers most of the food we rescue to emergency food providers that run food programs open to the general public. EFPs may provide food in the form of a pantry or grocery bag (food pantry) or a prepared meal to consume onsite (soup kitchen or shelter).
Food Pantry: A program distributing emergency food in the form of groceries about once per week. People visiting pantries usually have access to cooking facilities.
Soup Kitchen:
Emergency Shelter: Short-term overnight shelter that normally provides one meal a day to its beneficiaries.
Public Institutions
City Harvest works with childcare and senior centers to deliver food and provide nutrition education. We also work with schools to support food programming, and connect students to opportunities for food and nutrition education.
Young children are eligible for meals from childcare centers and schools. The city’s information hotline, 311, can provide a list of meal sites.
Seniors are eligible for food assistance in the form of food stamps, congregate meals, and meals-on-wheels. For more information, see the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA) or Citymeals-on-wheels or call 311.
Schools provide two or more meals each school day to children citywide.
New York City schools offer free breakfast to all public school students. Breakfast consists of a bread item (e.g., bagel, toast, oatmeal), a protein item (e.g., eggs, sausage) fruit, vegetable or juice, and milk, cheese, or yogurt. Some schools offer breakfast in the classroom during first period to make it easier for students to have a meal, but most schools offer breakfast in the cafeteria before the start of school and students must arrive early to eat breakfast.
In January 2009, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released a report on School Breakfast in NYC and other big cities.
The cost for school lunch depends on a student’s family income and ranges from free to $1.50. Many students in NYC are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Parents must fill out an application to receive this benefit. School lunches provide bread or starch, protein, fruit or vegetable, and milk or dairy.
Many public schools are open the entire summer to serve free breakfast and lunch to all children 18 years of age and under in New York City. Meals are also offered at swimming pools, parks, and libraries. Summer meal sites are listed on the SchoolFood website and are available at 311.
