Meet the Food Bank Running Team!

Food Bank For New York City is proud to be the charity partner of this year's SHAPE + Health Women’s Half-Marathon, the largest women’s-only half-marathon in the United States. As thousands of women gather to run the Central Park Loop, Food Bank will be using the space to advocate for our "Woman to Woman" campaign, which serves the estimated 1 million women and girls facing poverty in NYC. To help spread the word about this important cause, we've assembled a Food Bank running team packed with some pretty amazing women. Ahead of race day, we thought it'd be fun to connect with our runners and learn a little bit more about why they decided to team up with Food Bank. Read the conversation below! What motivated you to sign up for the women's half-marathon? Latoya Shauntay Snell, host of the "Running Fat Chef" podcast: I signed up for the SHAPE+ Women's Half Marathon and 5.8 Miler because it feels powerful to run alongside other women. We are amazing, resilient, and capable of doing hard things. To be alongside other amazing athletes from different walks of life and moving for their own reasons means a lot to me. Alessandra Simkin, Food Bank Junior Board Member: I am recovering from a pelvic injury that started when I was pregnant three years ago. In the weeks leading up to my due date, I had trouble walking a few city blocks. Even though it took years to start to feel better, the fact that I can even consider running the 5.8 mile Central Park Loop is amazing. When some of my peers on the Junior Board signed up to do it, I decided to join them to honor my own journey and to celebrate the strength and resilience of our bodies. Alexis Teixeira, Food Bank Junior Board Member: I'm game to do close to anything to help support and raise awareness for Food Bank! This specific race happens to be the intersection of many of my passions: amplifying Food Bank, supporting female-focused initiatives, and running in Central Park. Tell us a little bit about your partnership with Food Bank. What inspired you to join our mission to fight hunger for all New Yorkers? Ashley Anderson, Food Bank Junior Board Member: I am so honored to serve on the Food Bank Junior Board. I've had longtime interests in food and supporting women. When I learned about Food Bank's "Woman to Woman" campaign and how Food Bank doesn't just provide food, but also period products, baby essentials, and basic hygiene items, I was inspired to combine my two interests and find a way to get involved. Latoya: My partnership with Food Bank speaks volumes to me. Despite my parents trying their best to ensure that we had all of the essentials we needed growing up, there were some days where I questioned if and when our next meal would come in. Sometimes, we can only see the extremities of poverty and can only visualize a person living on the streets as a person going through food insecurity. Being able to eat without fear of wondering where your next meal is coming from is a human right and shouldn't be viewed as a privilege. We are better people when we don't have to stress about the bare essentials. Olivia Briffault, Food Bank Junior Board Member: I've lived in New York my whole life and have grown up around and with stories of people who can't even afford to put food on the table each day. In my high school, some kids couldn't afford the $2 cafeteria meal plan after commuting 40+ minutes to get to school. Now that I am in a position to help, I want to make sure that every child has the opportunity to eat a full meal and that no parent has to worry about either feeding their child or feeding themselves. How can everyday New Yorkers stand up for the estimated 1 million women and girls facing poverty across the five boroughs? Alessandra: Going through changes as a woman is challenging, and it’s that much more challenging without access to basic essentials like period and hygiene products, diapers, wipes, and more. When it comes down to it, these products are just as important as food, and it’s amazing that the Food Bank provides opportunities for New Yorkers to get involved to ensure women and girls across NYC have access to these essential items. Stepping up to help is as easy as making a donation, starting a fundraiser, or checking out Food Bank’s wish lists. Alexis: Given that over half of all emergency food program participants in NYC are women, this is a critical issue we have an opportunity to make better. Fundraising and donating to Food Bank’s “Women to Woman” campaign is easy and incredibly helpful. If folks are looking for a more tangible way to have an impact, Food Bank has created an amazing resource to enable purchases of personal care products through Amazon here. And finally, what is something you wish people knew about hunger here in New York City? Latoya: I wish more New Yorkers knew how much food waste we contribute to on a daily basis. The amount of food that we regularly toss out could end hunger for a great portion of the population. I ask people to be mindful of how we use it and make it available for the next person. Ashley: I wish people knew how many women and girls face poverty right now in NYC, and how many are forced to choose between putting food on the table and buying period products. A lack of access to period products has a ripple effect, affecting health, school attendance, confidence, and so much more. Olivia: During the pandemic, an estimated 1 in 4 New York City children faced food insecurity. If kids can't eat, how are they supposed to succeed in school, build the skills they need for the future, or even just enjoy time with their friends? We are beyond grateful for all of the amazing runners who will be repping Food Bank at this month's SHAPE + Health Women's Half Marathon (especially all of our awesome Food Bank Junior Board members). To learn more about the big day (and Food Bank's "Woman to Woman" campaign) click this link.

Did you know that one million women and girls are facing poverty right here in New York City? At Food Bank, we believe in taking a holistic approach to fighting poverty and empowering our city's women and girls. That's why we not only provide essential period and hygiene supplies to those who menstruate, but also advocate for policies that create real benefits for women and girls living in NYC. Volunteers wrote letters to policy makers to advocate for the needs of women and girls facing poverty. This spring, our incredible volunteers and staff members came together to pack 1,800 hygiene kits, write heartfelt letters of support, and urge our representatives to uplift and empower women and girls in our community. Volunteers included a hand-written note in each kit to remind the recipient that they are special and deserving. Packing kits with the essentials people need. So, what exactly goes into a Food Bank Hygiene Kit? We're talking all the essentials – pads, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, and deodorant. These kits play a crucial role in helping to deliver dignity and inspire confidence for those who may struggle to access these necessities. And to make these kits even more special, our volunteers took the time to write personalized letters, reminding recipients that they are seen, valued, and supported. The kits are distributed through our Mobile and Campus Pantries, ensuring they reach those who need them most. Kit essentials included shampoo, deodorant, and conditioner. Manager of Volunteer Engagement Aaliyah Cardenas helped make this effort possible. But we didn't stop there! Our volunteers channeled their inner advocates by writing letters to elected officials, urging them to support the expansion of food assistance programs for women and prioritize affordable childcare. We know that these resources are absolutely critical in the lives of women and families throughout New York City. Over 40 advocacy postcards were mailed to New York State representatives. A volunteer poses at our Warehouse with packed kits ready to deliver to those who need them. We were thrilled to have New York City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías, a dedicated advocate for women, join us at our warehouse on April 20 to pack Hygiene Kits. Farías is leading the charge to make menstruation supplies available at New York City's public schools, so no one has to miss out on their education because of their period. Watch the video below to see Council Majority Leader Farias in action: Volunteers also powered our effort to provide New Yorkers with period essentials. Junior Board member, Julia Lichtenstein, transformed her baby shower into a celebration of giving back to families in our community. She hosted a diaper drive as her gift registry and she and her guests were able to donate 1,500 diapers (read more about it here). And Becky Stromfeld hosted a month-long drive at the Wildlife Conservation Society and invited her coworkers to donate essentials. Their efforts resulted in a large donation of items frequently needed by our clients including diapers, soap, tampons, and pads. Our volunteers’ generosity and creativity never cease to amaze us! Becky and her coworker donated essential items to our Community Kitchen and Pantry in Harlem. With these actions combined, the impact was truly remarkable. We successfully packed over 2,000 hygiene kits and essential items were donated by dedicated volunteers and distributed to our clients. Plus, dozens of letters were written and sent to elected officials, advocating for the inclusion of funding for vital hunger-fighting programs and affordable childcare policies in the New York City budget: Food Bank advocates for policies that create real change for New York's women and girls. Food Bank remains committed to supporting and empowering women and girls in our community. By providing essential resources and advocating for policies that address the unique challenges faced by women, we strive to create a more equitable and resilient city for all. The dedication and compassion demonstrated by our volunteers and staff during these events serve as a powerful reminder of the impact we can make when we come together to support one another. What is Period Poverty? If you’re unfamiliar with the term “period poverty,” it basically refers to the difficulty some face in affording the menstrual hygiene products they need to safely take care of their periods. The monthly cost of period products can be extremely prohibitive for individuals already struggling to pay for things like food, rent, and utilities. So, they may go without, meaning they’ll either skip work or school to avoid the shame of menstruating in public without the tools they need to do so hygienically or safely. To learn more about period poverty and its affects on those who menstruate, click here. A special thanks to our generous partners at Always, Wegmans, and P&G for providing us with the resources we needed to pack these hygiene kits for our communities.

Food Bank For New York City sent three representatives to the inaugural Elevating Voices: Power Summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Funded and hosted by Feeding America, the Power Summit is an extension of Feeding America’s effort to bring Americans with lived experience of food insecurity to the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in October 2022, the first of its kind in over fifty years. Spanning two days, the Summit gathered nearly 100 anti-hunger champions from across the country to forge community with each other and share their stories with key federal decision-makers, including the USDA, ahead of the 2023 reauthorization of the Farm Bill. Hunger fighters gathered at this year's Elevating Voices: Power Summit in D.C. And this is what sets this Power Summit apart – its unique positionality as being developed for and by individuals with lived experience of food insecurity, with the aim to not only center, but also to listen to and amplify the voices of individuals who feel the impacts of hunger every day. Erica Astacio, Power Summit advisory committee member, said, “nothing for us, without us. We deserve a seat at the table, and when that doesn’t happen, we need to create our own table.” Create their own table they did, with Will McIntee, Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, White House Office of Public Engagement, a guest at the Power Summit, remarking, “It’s humbling to stand in front of a room with so much power. We look forward to joining you at your tables for this conversation and learning more from you.” Jeannette Joseph-Greenaway (Executive Director of Agatha House, a Food Bank member agency in the Bronx) with New York Congressman Marc Molinaro, NY-19. We applaud Feeding America for creating a space for these important discussions. At Food Bank For New York City, we believe every person has a power that’s theirs and theirs alone—to see and realize possibility in every new day, to fight and overcome adversity with dignity. A huge thanks to Jeannette Joseph-Greenaway (Agatha House in the Bronx), Evelyn Viera (Life Together Works NYC), and Katherin Morales (Catholic Charities NY) for representing our Food Bank member network at this historic event!