Right now 1.2 million New Yorkers are struggling with food insecurity, and this will continue through the holiday season, when people are supposed to be sharing the love through family and plentiful food. To combat this issue, City Harvest has launched its 37th annual Daily News Food Drive in partnership with Daily News–the largest food drive in New York City. It will run from October 22–January 17, 2020. You and your family can participate by bringing food to local soup kitchens, food pantries, and City Harvest trucks all over the city, or by running your own food drive. Your children might be participating in school too: last year, 352 schools participated in the Kids Can Help Competition and collected over 238,586 pounds of food, according to City Harvest.
The most essential items to donate are nonperishable and include:
- Canned fruits and vegetables
- Canned proteins, like tuna and beans
- Peanut butter in plastic jars
- Boxed macaroni and cheese
- Soups
- Hot and cold cereal, in family-sized portions
- Juice packs and boxes
Food donations can be dropped off at NYC Fire Department firehouses, NYC Police Department precincts, select Apple Bank locations, and at the lobby of City Harvest’s office at 6 East 32nd Street. You can also donate funds as an individual or with your company, organization, or business as a team by heading to the Daily News Virtual Food Drive website. Some companies will match your donations as well. City Harvest says that just one dollar will help the organization “rescue and deliver nearly four pounds of good, nutritious food for our neighbors in need.”
The number of New Yorkers struggling to provide their families with healthy food is larger than the entire population of San Francisco. Visit City Harvest’s website for more information on what kinds of food you can donate, where to take donations, how to start your own food drive, or how to get your child’s school participating in the Kids Can Help Competition.
