City Harvest

Share Lunch Fight Hunger returns May 5-16! Our annual corporate fundraising competition engages thousands of New Yorkers and dozens of companies to help provide food for NYC children in need during the summer months, when access to free school meals may become limited. Right now, 1 in 4 New York City children don’t always know where their next meal will come from. By donating $25—the cost of what you might spend on lunch—to City Harvest, you can help provide free nutritious food to 19 children and their families. Together, we can ensure that every child in NYC has access to the nutritious food they need to thrive. Rally your coworkers and friends and sign up a team today: https://lnkd.in/ehDUqcHD #WeAreCityHarvest

This month marks five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the crisis, City Harvest rescued and delivered more than 300 million pounds of food—more than double the amount for the same period of time prior to the pandemic—for our fellow New Yorkers. The need has not gone away. The number of visits to NYC food pantries and soup kitchens is currently higher than the previous peak during the pandemic, and is increasing compared to last year, according to data from FeedNYC. City Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens shared with CBS New York that food insecurity in New York City "is a problem that was always big, has grown, and, unfortunately, is not subsiding." City Harvest is committed to feeding all of our neighbors in need—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time. Learn more about City Harvest: www.cityharvest.org #WeAreCityHarvest

City Harvest is in Washington, D.C., advocating to protect federal programs that help ensure New Yorkers can put food on the table. Meanwhile, you can take action in New York—tell your representatives to safeguard state programs that ensure food access for all New Yorkers by visiting https://p2a.co/MWjug2g #WeAreCityHarvest

Follow along with our Policy and Advocacy team during their recent visit to the State Capitol alongside Food Bank For New York City, United Way of New York City, and more than 100 advocates from our partner food pantries.   We attended more than 30 meetings with government leaders to call for a state budget that ensures affordable access to food, childcare, and housing for New Yorkers in our city and across the state. Take action at https://p2a.co/MWjug2g. #WeAreCityHarvest

Earlier this week, the House approved a budget that proposed significant cuts to vital, proven programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, that would have a devastating effect on the millions of New Yorkers and people across our country who are already struggling to cover basic costs.    SNAP is our nation’s most effective tool in fighting hunger. We are seeing a record number of New Yorkers depend on the food pantries and soup kitchens we serve to put meals on their tables, yet nonprofits alone already cannot provide enough to meet the need for food assistance. According to Feeding America, SNAP provides access to 9 meals for every meal that the charitable food system provides. SNAP is also a boon to local economies: Every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.50 in economic activity at neighborhood grocers and bodegas. The proposed cuts will make it even harder for children, seniors, and working New Yorkers to make ends meet.    As New Yorkers continue to grapple with rising costs of food, housing, and childcare, more and more families are struggling to put meals on the table—and the need for strong support systems has never been greater. City Harvest has long urged leaders at all levels of government to increase access to SNAP benefits and invest more in anti-hunger programs, including SNAP. We will continue to work with our partners and policymakers to safeguard and expand SNAP benefits so no one in our community goes hungry.

Right now, half of working-age households in New York City are struggling to make ends meet, according to the True Cost of Living report—that’s 3 million New Yorkers who do not make enough to cover the minimum cost of living in NYC, including basics like food, rent, and child care. The New York Times shared a list of crowdsourced ideas on how to address the affordability crisis, including suggestions from City Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens and Community Volunteer Gordon. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/epM-FjxM #WeAreCityHarvest

The CEOs of City Harvest, Food Bank For New York City, and United Way of New York City, join together in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State Address:

That’s a wrap on Repack to Give Back! This holiday season, 1,578 volunteers from 67 corporate groups participated in the campaign. They helped to repack 302,281 pounds of food—including canned holiday staples, apples, carrots, and more—into 70,300 family-sized bags to be delivered to our NYC neighbors in need. Many thanks to all of the campaign participants, including Sharebite. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eGXdyhGU #WeAreCityHarvest

As New York City’s largest private response to hunger, corporate and foundation support plays a crucial role in City Harvest’s mission every day. Their generous support helps City Harvest rescue and deliver millions of pounds of food every year to ensure New Yorkers have the food they need to thrive. Many thanks to the following companies for participating in Repack to Give Back, our annual holiday season corporate volunteering campaign: McGraw Hill, Snap Inc., RIMOWA, Luna Park in Coney Island, Huel, and Boll & Branch. Find out all of the ways your company can support City Harvest: https://lnkd.in/epeJNTZt  #WeAreCityHarvest

At the close of the New York Produce Show & Conference yesterday at Javits Center, 50 City Harvest volunteers took to the showroom floor to rescue fresh produce donated by the vendors, including berries, coconuts, starfruit, squash, pineapple, guava, mushrooms, ginger, jackfruit, avocados, and so much more! Volunteers rescued more than 53,000 pounds of food, which was then loaded onto City Harvest trucks and delivered to Children of the Light Food Pantry and Salt & Sea Mission in Brooklyn, and Evangel Christian Center in Queens to provide free food for New Yorkers in need. #WeAreCityHarvest