Our Vision, Principles, and Approach

More than 1.6 million New Yorkers don’t always know where their next meal is coming from—including 1 in 3 children. Millions more New Yorkers are teetering on the edge of food insecurity. This is unacceptable. At City Harvest, we are working to build a city where all New Yorkers have the food, they need for themselves and their families. While our operations and community of food providers and donors continue to work hard to meet the immediate food needs of New Yorkers facing food insecurity by supporting our partner food pantries, we must also work hard to decrease the demand for emergency food and end hunger and shorten food pantry lines in the long run.

To build a food-secure future for all New Yorkers, we must address food insecurity’s root causes—systemic racism, income inequality, rent burden, inequitable public policies, etc. We believe that all New Yorkers deserve equitable access to nutritious, affordable food regardless of their race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or immigration status.

OUR APPROACH

City Harvest advocates for policies that aim to end hunger, decrease the demand for emergency food and shorten food pantry lines in communities throughout New York City. We support policies that provide immediate, dignified, and empowering access to healthy and affordable food, while also promoting policies that address the structural root causes of hunger in our communities. We do this by engaging elected officials, coalitions, frontline food pantry and soup kitchen leaders, and advocates throughout New York City, as well as at the state and federal levels.