I Rise for My Community

At Food Bank, we are proud to be a grant recipient of the Grubhub Community Fund, which provides resources to organizations like ours to empower and support our neighbors. This Hunger Action Month, Grubhub has taken its partnership a step further by sponsoring our “Together We Rise” series, which features stories of resilience and strength from the folks who power our mission every day. Annie Poon is one of the newest members of our Food Bank family. She began supporting our mission at the height of COVID-19 and later became a monthly donor when she saw just how far her support could go. Read her story below and learn all about her commitment to fighting for the needs of children in her community. What is your hunger story – in other words, your connection or experience with food insecurity? I left my first college before completing my education. I abruptly entered the elusive job search without the support of my parents or family. The local pet store accepted my application, but I was only making $4.15 an hour. Over time, my boss started giving me less and less hours. Finally, one day, the company scheduled a meeting for all the staff at my supervisor’s home. I didn’t have a car and the only way to get to the meeting was to take two long bus rides with a long walk on both ends, I arrived at the meeting when it had just wrapped up. My boss fired me the next day and I suddenly couldn’t afford the rent on my apartment anymore. I grew alfalfa sprouts in the refrigerator and purchased cheap cheese slices to put on my sandwiches. One day I asked my roommates if they wanted to trade some food with me. They laughed at me and said they knew there was no food in my cabinet. This is my story of food insecurity. It was short lived, but I learned a lot about what it feels like to go without food and resources. When I was a little more financially secure, I determined that I could make a small monthly donation to Food Bank so that a few less children in my community would go hungry each month. What keeps you motivated when times get tough? When times get tough, I take out my pencil and write in my thick white journal. It is a simple pleasure, free but satisfying. The ability to write in my journal gives me joy. It is a friend to me. I also love to write down the inspiring words I hear when I pray. What compelled you to become a Food Bank supporter? I have never met any of the staff of Food Bank personally, but I have read the materials sent to me and realized that I wanted to be in this community that the Food Bank has created. I became even more motivated to give when I learned that a dollar can provide several meals for neighbors in my community. I imagine my dollar traveling through the city — through the blocks and past high rises — into the hands that prepare food for my fellow New Yorkers. Visualizing that little dollar going to those who need it most creates a beautiful image in my heart. As inflation drives food, rent, and gas prices higher across the city, how are you staying hopeful? As inflation drives food, rent, and gas prices higher across the city, I stay hopeful by changing my diet to less expensive foods, but preparing them with love and joy. I have recently started saying a prayer of thanks each and every day that I have daily bread to eat and a roof over my head. I feel lucky for this daily miracle no matter what I am eating. What do you rise for? I rise for children. Food Bank For New York City’s “Together We Rise” series is presented by Grubhub, our Hunger Action Month partner whose immense generosity is enabling us to continue the work of feeding and nourishing ALL New Yorkers in these challenging times.

In honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are celebrating Food Bank member agencies that uplift and serve AAPI New Yorkers. One of these agencies is the MUNA Social Services, a Bangladeshi-run organization that operates out of East New York and provides culturally-relevant food and educational programming. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City in 2020, MUNA saw an urgent need for fresh food in the East New York community and sprang into action, pooling together resources and getting creative to buy groceries and distribute them to neighbors in need. Sometimes, MUNA even called upon local cab drivers to deliver food safely through contactless drop-offs – a clever solution during a time when many drivers saw a decline in riders. MUNA's weekly distributions are lively and bustling. As the need grew, MUNA knew it had to scale up its efforts. That's when it turned to Food Bank For New York City for support. Since then, MUNA and Food Bank have collaborated to host weekly food distributions outside of a local mosque, providing a lifeline to the Bengali community in East New York. These distributions offer a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from Food Bank. And because 80% of MUNA's clients are Muslim, MUNA goes the extra mile to provide Halal meats whenever available – an expensive but essential staple in Bengali cooking. MUNA’s distributions often last for 5 hours and can serve over 100 people per hour! Food Bank provides MUNA with fresh produce so that New Yorkers can cook according to their own cultural traditions. But MUNA didn't stop there. Recognizing the high demand for food in its community, it increased its distributions and scaled up to offer extra support on weekends. MUNA also operates food pantries in Delaware and New Jersey, ensuring that other American-Bengali communities have access to the food they need to thrive. Dr. Kabir and Mr. Haq reflect on their work at MUNA. Dr. Jahangir M. Kabir, Director of Communication and Operations at MUNA, reflects on his organization’s work: "We are a very loving community. We welcome everybody and anybody; they can come anytime. Our mosque is open. We have the same dreams and hopes like everybody else, the same problems and challenges as everybody else." MUNA's team of volunteers is dedicated and hard working. For more on how MUNA innovates to nourish its community, watch the video below... At Food Bank, we're honored to support organizations like MUNA that go above and beyond to serve their neighbors. Together, we're working to empower every New Yorker to achieve food security for good. Click here to learn more about and support these vital organizations.

On Sunday, June 25, Food Bank For New York City marched in the annual New York City Pride Parade with a powerful contingent of volunteers, supporters, donors, and staff. Our theme for this year’s Pride Month campaign was “Food is a Powerful Ally,” reflecting how we strive to uplift those in need through food. Food Bank For New York City gears up to march in the 2023 Pride Parade with a themed banner. Parade participants handed out branded giveaway items to excited onlookers, including fans, lip balms, trail mix, and colorful sunglasses. They were met with contagious smiles as they marched onward. Ty Milburn, Director of Influencer Marketing at Food Bank, felt grateful to witness and contribute to the event’s meaningful emotional impact. “This was my first time walking in a Pride event and the experience was amazing,” Milburn said. “For me, the big takeaway was that this was an event where everyone wanted to spread love. It's a great day any time you can tell someone, ‘We see you and we love you just the way you are.’” Food Bank Director of Influencer Marketing Ty Milburn smiles at the camera during the march. We were joined by dozens of representatives from Food Bank member agencies that serve LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, including Make the Road NY, Safe Horizon, and GMHC. Giaura Fenris, TGNCIQ+ Health Advocate with Make The Road NY, was excited to march with Food Bank: It was an honor to be in person to represent the collaboration between Food Bank and Make the Road NY in the campaign 'Food is a Powerful Ally' that TGNCIQ+ members of Make the Road NY got to participate in through photography and videos. It was beautiful to carry the fans in the March that had images of our community members and the message of providing food to our most vulnerable and marginalized communities. Walking in the March felt exhilarating, expansive, a good workout, and a high like no other. Sharing the resources and engaging the crowd was such a rush of energy and it felt like our message was heard. Other organization representatives were compelled and inspired to join Food Bank during the Pride March, including Carrington Baker, CEO and Founder of For Women by Women, Period. “[Everyone] was happy to be marching with Food Bank, grateful and appreciative of our support,” Milburn said. “We in turn were thrilled to be with them, affirming them with our allyship.” Representatives from For Women By Women, Period marched alongside Food Bank in the parade. In advance of the parade, Food Bank spent the month fundraising as part of the annual Pride Month Campaign. As a result, Food Bank raised nearly 19,000 meals for our neighbors in need. Food Bank Government Relations summer intern Kailey Costa passes out branded fans to parade onlookers. For more information on how we serve one in five LGBTQ+ New Yorkers facing food insecurity, visit this page. Also, consider making a donation today so we can continue to support our LGBTQ+ neighbors beyond Pride Month. Participants joyfully march with the banner and balloons spelling "FEED ALL" through Stonewall Place. For more scenes from the march, check out our photo gallery. All photos provided by Kreg Holt.