A Healthy Dish of Smashed Potatoes with Kale

Published November 6, 2023 Giving Tuesday is quickly approaching on November 28... But how can you maximize your #GivingTuesday gift to make the greatest difference for those in need? You can start by checking out our top five Giving Tuesday tips below! They cover everything from where to begin to how you can support Food Bank For New York City's mission to deliver 40 million meals to food insecure New Yorkers this holiday season. For a little inspiration, watch our video on the power of giving: Watch our latest video on why we encourage you to "Give for Good" this Giving Tuesday. Read on for our helpful tips and join millions in the global celebration of Giving Tuesday, which is all about giving back to those who need us most. Explore how you can Give for Good. 1. See where your friends are giving Unsure about how to start or where to donate? Ask your friends and family about the organizations they support. Discovering common passions and interests will guide your giving decisions and help you find the organization that’s perfect for you. At Food Bank, we regularly host family repacks plus many other volunteer opportunities at our Warehouse. We also make it easy to launch a personal fundraiser for your birthday! 2. Get to know an organization The only way to truly understand the impact of your gift is to take the time to get to know an organization and its mission. For example, you may know that at Food Bank we give people food, but did you also know that we provide our neighbors with pet food, period products, free tax prep, winter clothing, housing assistance, and even have senior programming at our Community Kitchen? Pull back the layers of an organization and you might be surprised by what you find! 3. Give where your money goes far The hard truth is that not all impact is equal, so make sure your donation directly benefits the community you’re targeting and goes far in that service. At Food Bank, our powerful network and relationships with retailers mean that just $1 can provide 5 meals for food insecure New Yorkers. Learn more. 4. Go monthly When you find an organization that makes your heart sing, give monthly. Recurring donations can help sustain a non-profit through tough times, providing worthy missions with vital safety nets. At Food Bank, monthly support helps us get more food to more New Yorkers in need. 5. Giving is an act of love No matter where you give, your contribution will provide invaluable support to communities in need. Whether you choose to support hunger relief, women's rights, animals in need, or any other cause close to your heart, your generosity is, simply put, an act of incredible love. Help Provide 40 Million Meals This holiday season, we at Food Bank For New York City are on a mission to deliver 40 million meals to the 1.2 million New Yorkers struggling to feed themselves and their families. It's a big goal, but one we can reach with YOUR support. Together, we can empower every New Yorker to achieve food security for good. Click the button below to find out how.

When Food Bank Junior Board member Julia Lichtenstein was planning her baby shower, she knew she wanted to give back to her community. So instead of having her guests bring gifts, she asked them to donate diapers to Food Bank For New York City instead. And the response was overwhelming – Julia's friends and family donated over 1,500 diapers, which she then dropped off at our Community Kitchen & Food Pantry in Harlem! To learn more about how Julia turned her private celebration into a celebration of giving back to families in our community, read our recent interview with her below! Julia and her newborn. How long have you been involved with Food Bank and what inspires you to stay connected to our mission? I've been supporting Food Bank since my now husband did a fundraiser for his birthday many years ago. As I learned more about Food Bank over the years, I knew I wanted to become more actively involved, and I joined the Junior Board in 2023. I'm consistently amazed by the work Food Bank does to connect New Yorkers in need not only with necessary nutritious food but also critical services like tax preparation to get much needed refunds. Where did the idea for a diaper collection come from? Through my work on the Junior Board, I learned about the Woman to Woman campaign which, conveniently, was active during the same month I planned to hold my baby shower. I wanted to amplify the campaign's goal of connecting women with baby supplies, the cost of which can often be a strain on many households. Were any of your guests surprised to learn that Food Bank provides New Yorkers with resources like diapers? Many of my guests did not realize that Food Bank accepts donations of hygiene products like diapers. I was excited to spread the word that Food Bank is not just about food! There are so many ways that the Food Bank works to empower every New Yorker to achieve food security for good. Do you have any tips for New Yorkers looking to engage their communities in acts of giving like this? One of the best parts of working with Food Bank is how simple it can be to make an impact on the community. The guests at my baby shower collectively amassed 1,500 diapers and it was easy to do! Many of the products that Food Bank needs--like pantry staples or personal care products--only require a quick trip to the grocery or drug store. I took the donations uptown to Food Bank the next day and the diapers were distributed to clients right away. My diaper drive is just one example of the many easy ways New Yorkers can gather their communities to collect easy-to-find items and get them into hands that need them. What are some memorable moments you've had while serving with Food Bank? One of my most memorable experiences was spending the day with Leslie Gordon, Food Bank’s President and CEO, and other Food Bank volunteers hearing from Leslie about her many years of work as a food banker and seeing firsthand the operations that keep Food Bank running. It was on that tour that Leslie mentioned that diapers could be among the most expensive personal care items that a household needs and can be a significant financial strain for parents with little ones at home. I did not have children at the time, but her remark stuck with me as I started to grow my family and I knew I wanted to help lighten that burden in whatever small way I could. And finally, what excites you most about motherhood? Think we might get to meet the little one at a distribution someday? The most exciting thing about motherhood is watching your child start to see the world around them. Children bring a fresh sense of wonder and joy that those of us who have been here a bit longer sometimes lose sight of. I can't wait to bring my daughter to a Food Bank volunteer event when she is old enough! I hope to teach her from a young age the importance of being involved in the community around you and lending a hand in whatever way you can. 1,500 Diapers were donated to Food Bank from Julia's Baby Shower. We are so grateful for Julia’s generosity and her contribution to families in New York City. Interested in getting involved? Food Bank can help you make an impact on your special day. Click here to launch your own fundraiser for Food Bank!

When thinking of voices to showcase on our "Food in Action" series, Chef Chris Scott seemed like a perfect fit. Not only has he been a longtime Food Bank supporter (serving as a volunteer and member of our Culinary Council), but he's also a natural born storyteller who uses food to uplift and celebrate African American history. You may also recognize him as a former finalist on Top Chef (woo!) and perhaps the best southern biscuit maker this side of the Carolinas (if you haven't tried Butterfunk, well... bless your little heart). Read our profile of the chef below, and remember to check out the rest of the stories in our "Food in Action" series, which highlights the culinary activism of chefs, cooks, and restauranteurs using food to do good right here in the Big Apple. View this post on Instagram A post shared by chris scott (@chefchris512) What, for you, is the magic of food? The magic of food is how it has the ability to bring us all together around the table. People often ask me what my favorite kitchen tool is, and I'm sure they are expecting me to answer with some ridiculously expensive kitchen knife, or fancy immersion circulator, but my favorite tool is my Kitchen Table. This is the place where we all come to restore our spirits and our bodies, where conversation and ideas are met with being heard. That is the magic of food. What ingredient will always sell you on a dish? The ingredient that I will always sell is the origin of the dish, the story within the story of the dish. I believe people should know WHY they're eating what they're eating. Do you have a favorite meal memory? Right before the birth of our son, my wife took me to Sushi Yasuda. Not only was it delicious and I got to see some pretty nifty knife work and cooking applications first hand, but it was the culture that stayed with me the most. View this post on Instagram A post shared by chris scott (@chefchris512) How can folks use food to do good? Feeding the people with love is how we all can do good through food. Realizing that food is the connective that keeps and brings us together. Either be it through giving back and helping in soup kitchens or shelters, but also teaching and passing down what you know about cooking. The knowledge of what we do is priceless, and must be taught to the next generations. And lastly... if your bodega named a sandwich after you, what would it be called and what would it be? I don't know if it would be a sandwich. Probably a ripped piece of good bread, slightly toasted, with a delicious compound butter and a savory jam. That's more my speed. And of course, it would be free. For more stories from chefs on the ground, make sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.