|
|
|
|
Help the hungry!
Submitted:
12/1/2009
|
Approximately 1.3 million New Yorkers — the majority of whom are women, children, seniors, the working poor and people with disabilities — rely on emergency food. With the goal of ending food poverty throughout the five boroughs, the Food Bank For New York City provides a series of financial empowerment, nutrition and health education programs in addition to distributing more than 50 million pounds of food to more than 1,000 food assistance programs every year.
All items to be donated must be:
• In their original, unopened packages
• Within the expiration date on the package
• In plastic jars or containers, not glass
Bring items to Baskerville lobby and place in your grade's collection box by 12/18!
From http://www.foodbanknyc.org/index.cfm?objectid=CD6F9645-9677-4201-1D467AF46A9C1084
Jada, Brooklyn food pantry guest
"I've been coming here for two and a half years. The food helps me feed my family — my three grandchildren, ages five, six and eleven, and my niece and nephew.
"After working all day, coming home to an empty kitchen is hard. The juice is always the first thing to go. But we are so lucky. We can come here and get a good hot meal or bag of groceries that will pull us through. They give lots of good stuff: canned goods, meat, big cans of juice. Lots of people need this here.
"One time I went to see my son in Binghamton. When I came home I found my house burglarized. Not only did they take the TV and our stereo equipment, they took the food! All of it. And I panicked. I support five people, you know? I called my mother. All she had was a bit of freezer-burned chicken. Then I thought, maybe I can ask Mrs. Wallace [Director of the Friendly Christian Church food pantry and soup kitchen]. It wasn't a food distribution day and there were another six days before I could get my food stamps. But Mrs. Wallace made up an emergency bag for me. Gave me tuna in a can, some cereal, a big can of meatballs. She stretched us through and I was so thankful."
We met Jada at the Friendly Christian Church food pantry, which has been a Food Bank network member for seven years.
|
|
|
