Food Bank For New York City

Food Bank For New York City is a non-profit social services organization. Its aim is to organize food, information and support for needy citizens of New York City.

History
The Food Bank For New York City was founded in 1983. It has a network of approximately 1,200 emergency and community food providers, including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, low-income day care centers, as well as senior, youth and rehabilitation centers. Food Bank provides approximately 250,000 free meals daily. Since its inception, it has collected, warehoused and distributed more than 744 million pounds of food. Food Bank has a staff of over 100 full-time employees and is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors. Food Bank is a certified member of America’s Second Harvest and the New York State Food Bank Association. In July 2007, the Food Bank acquired FoodChange, Inc

Mission & Services
Founded on research showing that approximately two million New Yorkers are at risk of hunger and that more than half of city households with children would not be able to afford food for their families within three months of the loss of a job or household income, the Food Bank works to fight hunger with food donated from, among other sources, the Fulton Fish Market, The Hunts Point meat and produce markets, the Hunts Point Cooperative Market, government agencies and America’s Second Harvest. In addition, Food Bank runs Kid’s Café, an after-school program providing free meals to children.

Honors and Support
In 2005 and 2006, the Food Bank received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest charity evaluator in the U.S.. The Food Bank was also recognized by America’s Second Harvest with a second “Mighty Apple” award for most produce collected and distributed within the network, as well as with their first “Model Fundraising Campaign of the Year” award for the 2006 CANS Film Festival. In 2007, it was among over 530 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $30 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Other Resources

 * 866-NYC-FOOD: The Food Bank's 24-hour, toll-free phone service in partnership with the city of New York, for assistance in locating an emergency food program.
 * Education Institute for Community Program Advancement: Provides emergency and community food programs with seminars, educational tools and the Annual Agency Conference.