Why They’re Food Heroes: In April 2020, the NYC Food Policy Center launched its Coronavirus NYC Neighborhood Food Resource Guides, spearheaded by Melissa Gallanter, RD. The 59 guides, one for each neighborhood included in the NYC Department of City Planning’s Community District Profiles, include a variety of information aimed at connecting individuals to essential food resources and social services within their immediate neighborhoods. The guides include information on local food pantries and emergency food programs; neighborhood outlets and farmers’ markets; food delivery programs for home-bound seniors, shelters and transitional housing and services for homeless people, resources and services for individuals with disabilities and immigrants, citywide organizations offering food delivery and mobile markets; free meals for students and seniors; and more. The 59 unique guides provide critical information for New Yorkers struggling to access food and essential services during the pandemic, and have been shared many times over by New Yorkers, media outlets, and other community organizations and city and state government agencies.
Work: Developed in collaboration with Share Meals, Hunger Free America, BetaNYC and Plentiful, the 59 NYC Food Policy Center Coronavirus NYC Neighborhood Food Resource Guides are continually updated by NYC Food Policy Center volunteers in order to provide accurate and current information and ensure that food resources are readily available to New Yorkers across the five boroughs.
Awards, Praise and Honors: The NYC Food Policy Center’s Coronavirus NYC Neighborhood Food Resources Guides have been widely circulated since the project was launched in 2020. The guides have been included in COVID resources guides from the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, the NYS Health Foundation, the New York Public Library, Fordham University, Community Food Funders, City Council Member Stephen Levin, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the COVID-19 Food Hub NYC from the Food Education Fund, NYC public schools, and more, and have received mentions in articles from various local media outlets, including Patch, Staten Island Living, The City, NY Eater, and Marion Nestle’s Food Politics blog.
Website: NYC Food Policy Center Coronavirus NYC Neighborhood Food Resource Guides
Resources and References:
- Hunter College Compiles Coronavirus Food Resource Guides (Patch)
- How to Get Food in New York Right Now — And How to Help Feed (The City)
- Neighborhood Food Resource Guide Volunteers (Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center)
