Anne Steele is back raising money for those in need via tips from her online concerts. City Harvest is an organization that is near and dear to her heart. Please donate here to thank her for sharing her music and to help feed many needy New Yorkers. Below please find the details of what City Harvest is doing in response to the COVID 19 crisis.

Designated an essential service by Governor Cuomo and New York State, City Harvest, New York City’s private response to hunger and largest food rescue organization, has mobilized to feed children, families, and all of our neighbors in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the unprecedented pandemic causes the city and the global economy to come to a halt, we’re continuing to see unemployment skyrocket at an alarming rate. Even before the crisis, 2.5 million working-age New Yorkers were struggling to make ends meet, and now many more are experiencing crippling financial hardship, especially with schools and so many businesses forced to close. In the weeks and months to come, we expect to face even greater challenges.

City Harvest is committed to feeding everyone who was relying on us before the crisis, and to meeting the increasing need as the devastating economic impact of COVID-19 continues to shape our new reality. We’re also working hard to ensure that, while schools are closed, children are fed and their families can always put meals on their tables.

We have adjusted our operations in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and to meet the need:
• Our trucks continue to be on the road, rescuing and delivering food free of charge for community food programs across the city.
• Our Mobile Markets are maintaining their schedules and are continuing to distribute free, fresh produce and nutritious shelf-stable foods to families across the five boroughs. We’re seeing people who have never before needed food assistance, and many more young families with children, come to our Mobile Markets.
• With 86 community food programs we deliver to forced to close due to insufficient staffing or as a precautionary measure, we have now added 11 Emergency Food Distribution Sites, with 5 more Sites soon to open, that will each distribute 4,000-12,000 pounds of food either weekly, biweekly, or multiple times a week in high-need neighborhoods, particularly where community food programs have shut down.
• We are repacking thousands of pounds of shelf-stable food and produce every week at our Food Rescue Facility into family-sized portions for distribution to community food programs, our Mobile Markets, and Emergency Food Distribution Sites.

From March through June 30, we will rescue and deliver 25.2 million pounds of food, 16% more than the same period last year, to meet the increased need during the COVID-19 crisis.
City Harvest has always stepped up to feed New Yorkers in times of crisis—including 9/11, the recession, Superstorm Sandy, and the partial federal government shutdown last year. We have always been neighbors helping neighbors, and together we can feed our city during this crisis—one meal, one day, one person at a time.

Thank you for your donation!