BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — It was the night of June 3. The Knicks were tipping off.

While much of the city had its eyes on Game 1, guests gathered at F&F turned their attention to a different challenge facing New York: summer hunger.

Food Bank For New York City’s latest Eat For Good dinner raised more than 45,000 meals for New York City kids facing summer hunger — brought together by four celebrated chefs, a room full of committed New Yorkers, and the kind of Brooklyn night that reminds you why this city is worth fighting for.

Culinary legends Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, known as The Franks, were joined by acclaimed chefs Dan Richer and Jamie Bissonnette. Elderflower and passionfruit cocktails courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka greeted guests at the door. Grilled octopus skewers circulated and didn’t last long.

President and CEO Leslie Gordon thanked guests for showing up and led the room in a chant of “Go New York, Go New York, Go!” before turning to the reason everyone had gathered.

“Summer can be one of the most difficult times of year for families experiencing food insecurity,” Gordon said. “While much of the city is watching the Knicks tonight, we’re especially grateful that you’re here with us.”

The school year quietly feeds kids through breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and routines families count on every day. Then June comes. For too many New York City kids, summer isn’t a break. It’s a gap.

The guests in that room were there to help fill it.

Then the chefs delivered. Richer’s wild boar and mozzarella pizza from Razza disappeared from tables almost as fast as it arrived. Bissonnette’s Korean short ribs sparked conversation — and an unlikely discovery: sesame leaves and pizza, an unexpectedly perfect pairing that spread table to table.

Castronovo and Falcinelli moved through the room sharing stories and laughter all night, the kind of hosts who make everyone feel like a regular. The evening closed with a rich espresso-soaked tiramisu.

This is what a summer night is supposed to feel like — good food, good company, a table worth gathering around. The guests who filled F&F that evening got exactly that. And because they showed up, so will kids across the five boroughs.

Longtime Eat For Good supporter Sima Littman summed up the sentiment simply: “Every dinner is my new favorite.” A guest of Nationwide agreed: “I love the opportunity to try new foods, have new experiences, and give back while doing it.”

The Knicks won that night. So did New York.

A special thank you to leading sponsors MetLife and Nationwide, and official flight partner United Airlines — whose support helped make the evening, and a summer without childhood hunger, possible.

We thank Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, and the New York State Legislature for advancing a FY27 State Budget during a time of persistent food insecurity, rising food costs, and uncertainty surrounding federal nutrition programs. The budget includes important investments to strengthen food security across New York, though significant challenges remain for communities across the state.

We appreciate the State’s continued commitment to strengthening New York’s nutrition safety net through investments including:

• $72.8 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP),
• $8.7 million for the Nutrition Outreach & Education Program (NOEP),
• Continued Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) access and outreach efforts,
• Support for Universal School Meals, funding to transition SNAP EBT cards to chip technology, and,
• $10 million for a new program called NY PLATES to bolster emergency food network capacity.

These investments will help food assistance providers meet growing demand for emergency food, connect eligible households to critical benefits, and support families and individuals facing rising costs.

At the same time, we note that the final budget did not include increased funding for Nourish New York or the proposed $3 million reimbursement fund for households impacted by stolen SNAP and cash assistance benefits. Strengthening these investments remains an important opportunity to support New York farmers, regional food systems, and families and communities experiencing food insecurity, including those who have lost critical benefits through theft and fraud.

As implementation begins, we look forward to working with state leaders to address remaining gaps, ensure timely distribution of resources, monitor the impact of federal food and nutrition policy changes, protect child nutrition programs, and advance long-term solutions that strengthen food security across New York.

Signed,

Leslie Gordon

President and CEO of Food Bank For New York City

Grace Bonilla

President and CEO of United Way of New York City

Jilly Stephens

CEO of City Harvest

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK — On May 14, Food Bank For NYC’s fourth annual Gotham Ball turned the Seagram building red for a night celebrating what the city does best: taking care of its own.

This year’s theme was the Big Apple, and the night delivered on every bit of it. But beneath the glittering Big Apple disco ball, crimson florals, and candlelit tables drenched in scarlet is a crisis this city cannot ignore.

One in four New Yorkers experiences food insecurity. One in three kids in the Bronx doesn’t have enough to eat. Gotham Ball exists because those numbers demand a response — and this year, guests gave one, raising more than 3.5 million meals for New Yorkers across all five boroughs.

Guests began the evening with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at The Grill beneath the 18-foot Giving Tree installation, where glittering apple ornaments could be purchased to help fill a Food Bank For NYC truck with fresh produce. From there, they moved through immersive moments spotlighting real statistics of hunger across the city before entering The Pool for the dinner and program.

Leslie Gordon, President and CEO of Food Bank For NYC, opened the evening with the reality too many New Yorkers are living each day:

“Federal safety nets are fraying. SNAP participation is declining. Across our city, a record number of New Yorkers are struggling to put food on the table,” But you are here — because you not only care deeply about our mission, but the people behind it.”

The evening honored three New Yorkers recognized for using their platforms to uplift communities and drive change: nationally syndicated radio host and cultural commentator Charlamagne Tha God, celebrated restaurateur and chef Missy Robbins, and wellness advocate Isaac Boots. Together, the honorees reflected the spirit of the night itself — culture, community, and New Yorkers using their voices to step up for this city.

Charlamagne Tha God put the stakes plainly for families across our city: “COVID and the government shutdown showed us that working-class people are often just one paycheck away from not being able to put food on the table,” he said. “But the Food Bank For NYC was ready and able to help. That is what they do.”

Isaac Boots made the mission personal. “Not knowing where your next meal is coming from is a frightening reality. But it is a reality for so many people. Supporting organizations like Food Bank For NYC is critical because they are there for people when they need it most.”

Then Tony- and Emmy-winning performer Kristin Chenoweth took the stage. Before opening with a soaring rendition of “Que Sera, Sera,” the original Broadway Glinda in Wicked reflected on the people behind Food Bank For NYC’s mission and the power of showing up for others.

“What Food Bank For NYC does is extraordinary,” Kristin told the crowd. “A lot of you here tonight are like family, and it means so much to know there are people in this world who care.” As she reflected on the scale of the organization’s work — including more than 100,000 pounds of food distributed last year — she paused and laughed: “That’s like Godzilla!”

She closed with “For Good,” brought the crowd to its feet, and kept them there, dancing long into the night.

The night ended the way New York’s best nights usually do: loud, glamorous, and shoulder-to-shoulder on the dance floor. Guests returned to The Grill for an afterparty glowing in sequins, lacquer, neon red light, and the unmistakable feeling of a city showing up for its own.

“Good, healthy food is a basic human right, and too many people in our own city are being denied this right,” said Andrea Shaw Resnick, member of the Food Bank For NYC Board of Directors. “It is incumbent upon all of us who are able to lend our time, energy, and financial support to give back to our communities.”

Special thanks to our friends at Major Food Group, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, Bub’s Bakery, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Fres Co, Gallagher & Co., Himan Brown Charitable Trust, Tower Research Capital LLC who made the night — and the mission to end food insecurity— possible.

Because when New York comes together, we’re unstoppable.

HARLEM, NEW YORK — On a bright spring afternoon, Food Bank For New York City gathered inside its Community Kitchen to celebrate the graduation of the inaugural Emerging Leaders Advocacy Council (ELAC) — a pilot program designed to help shape the next generation of food justice advocates across New York City.

But this was more than a graduation ceremony.

It was a room filled with young leaders already doing the work: organizing on college campuses, raising awareness around food insecurity, advocating for policy change, and helping connect students to resources too many don’t even realize exist.

Piloted by Food Bank For NYC’s Public Affairs team, ELAC was designed to place young people with lived experience at the center of advocacy and systems change. Students from colleges across the city spent the year learning about food policy, community organizing, civic engagement, and campus hunger — while developing and leading their own advocacy campaigns.

“The Emerging Leaders Advocacy Council was created to strengthen the connection between food insecurity, lived experience, and civic engagement by intentionally bringing college-age young adults into Food Bank For NYC’s advocacy work,” said Carmen Boone, Vice President of Public Affairs. “Many students and young New Yorkers are directly impacted by food insecurity yet are often missing from policy and systems-level conversations.”

Throughout the program, students organized awareness campaigns, led tabling events, conducted research with pantry coordinators, gathered petition signatures, participated in advocacy days at City Hall, and worked to ensure more students understood the food resources available on their own campuses.

The result: the cohort drove hundreds of petition signatures and advocacy actions tied to state and city budget campaigns while helping expand awareness around campus pantry access and student hunger.

For Malaika Walker, a Pace University student studying Peace and Justice Studies, the work felt deeply personal.

“What motivated me to join is during senior lunch-ins and our community meals, I would come in once or two days a week very regularly because I grew up always volunteering,” she shared. “During COVID, the need was so high. I vividly remember lines of cars waiting for food. Seeing us run out while people were still in line was heartbreaking as a 14-year-old.”

Graduating inside Food Bank For NYC’s Harlem Community Kitchen carried an even deeper meaning for Malaika, whose family roots are tied to the neighborhood.

“My dad is originally from Harlem and taught as a public school teacher for kids with special needs in New York for a very long time. My grandfather did a lot of Black liberation work in Harlem. There’s a lot of history and legacy here.”

At Parsons School of Design, student advocates Niav Lorenzo and Akanksha Mahanti focused their project on expanding awareness around campus pantry access after discovering that many students did not even know the pantry existed.

“I think free food is a radical concept, especially when you’re a student pushed into a new world without your parents,” said Niav. “People still run out of dining points and skip meals all the time.”

Their campaign combined tabling events, social media outreach, petitions, and student engagement campaigns — including a mascot-led activation that helped spark conversations around hunger and campus resources.

“We wanted people to engage through curiosity,” Niav explained. “So many students know about food insecurity but aren’t informed about the resources they actually have.”

At Medgar Evers College, Aaliyah Bartholomew used storytelling and social media to help students understand both the case for advocacy and the realities so many of their peers face every day.

Through tabling events, blogs, student storytelling, and advocacy campaigns, Aaliyah focused on helping students feel seen while building stronger awareness around campus resources. For her, the work came back to one core truth.

“Food is the first medicine we put into our bodies,” she said. “If your basic needs are met, you will be able to achieve whatever you want. That’s where thriving happens. People don’t just focus on surviving anymore — they are able to thrive.”

The graduation ceremony reflected both celebration and momentum. Students presented their end-of-year campaigns before receiving diplomas and bouquets, followed by remarks from Food Bank For NYC leadership on the road ahead.

“What gives me hope is the depth of commitment, leadership, and fresh perspective this cohort already brings,” Boone said. “These students are not waiting to become leaders in the future. They are already organizing, volunteering, conducting research, supporting their communities, and advocating for change today.”

Food Bank For NYC President and CEO Leslie Gordon echoed that during remarks to the graduates.

“If this is our future, our future is really bright,” Gordon told the cohort. “You are forever a part of the Food Bank For NYC family. We need people like you.”

For the students, the experience was about more than advocacy training. It was about learning how to lead, organize, collaborate, and build community — while balancing school, work, and life.

“You have to come here with passion,” Aaliyah said. “But you also have to be diligent. You have to come ready to work, ready to learn, and ready to grow. If your heart is in the right place, take the leap, sign up, and come join the family. Waiting for you on the other side are open arms ready to teach you the Food Bank For NYC way.”

As the inaugural cohort officially became Food Bankers for life, the room carried a clear sense that this pilot program had grown into something larger: proof that the next generation of advocates is already here — and already leading.

These students are not waiting to become leaders someday. They already are.

The next generation of food justice is here. Learn more about ELAC and how to get involved.

BRONX, NY – Food Bank For NYC, the leading hunger relief organization serving all five boroughs, is proud to announce that it has earned the prestigious 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces award.

The award honors organizations with 150 or more employees that have created exceptional, people-first cultures. The winners are recognized for their commitment to fostering a workplace environment that values employee listening and engagement.

“Our people-first approach starts from within,” said Leslie Gordon, President and CEO of Food Bank For NYC. “We believe that when our staff feel heard, supported, and empowered, they are better equipped to serve our neighbors with dignity and compassion. That culture carries through every aspect of our work, and this recognition affirms that investing in our people is essential to advancing our mission.”

As the city’s largest hunger-relief organization, Food Bank For NYC works at the intersection of food access, poverty, and opportunity, serving millions of New Yorkers each year through a powerful network of 800 community partners, as well as direct services and advocacy aimed at creating lasting change.

“Earning a USA TODAY Top Workplaces award is a testament to an organization’s credibility and commitment to a people-first culture,” said Eric Rubino, CEO of Energage. “This award, driven by real employee feedback, is more than just a recognition — it’s proof that your employees believe in the organization and its leadership. Job seekers and customers look for this trusted badge of credibility and excellence. It signals a company that values its people, and that kind of culture resonates in today’s competitive market.”

The winners were determined by authentic employee feedback captured through a confidential survey conducted by Energage, the HR research and technology company behind the Top Workplaces program since 2006. The results are calculated based on employee responses to statements about Workplace Experience Themes, which are proven indicators of high performance.

Learn more about Food Bank For NYC’s mission and vision.

 

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK —  On a Tuesday morning during Women’s History Month, 100 women gathered at Nike NYHQ — corporate leaders, Employee Resource Groups, advocates and community members — for a breakfast and conversation about what it actually takes to keep New York running. 

Hosted by Food Bank For New York City, in partnership with Nike and the Women of Nike Employee Resource Group, the event marked the 10th anniversary of Woman to Woman, a campaign founded by Food Bank For NYC Board Member Emeritus Katie Lee Biegel to support women facing hunger with both food and essential items like period products and personal hygiene supplies.

Before anyone took a seat, they stood shoulder to shoulder packing hygiene kits — including donated products such as Tampax tampons, Always Pantyliners, Prevail by First Quality lavender body wipes, United Airlines Amenity Kits, SheaMoisture Deodorant, and Farmacy Beauty lip balm. The kind of essentials that don’t get talked about enough but matter just as much as food. Kits that would make their way to mobile pantries across the five boroughs within days.

Then the panel began.

Biegel grounded the reality driving the work.

“Women make up nearly sixty percent of New Yorkers who turn to Food Bank For NYC for help… usually not just for themselves, but for their families,” she said.

She pointed to the gap many women face — where food assistance exists, but basic necessities do not. “SNAP does not cover women’s essentials like feminine care products. How can we break the cycle of poverty if you can’t meet those basic needs?”

Teen girls missing school or sitting out of sports practice every month because they can’t afford a pad. Women pulling paper towels from dispensers to use instead. A mother who qualifies for SNAP but is on her own for everything else.

“As a mother myself, I really cannot imagine that stress. Women carry so much — and yet they’re often the ones making the hardest sacrifices.”

Fasina Moore, a Harlem-born tile setter, small business owner and this year’s Woman to Woman honoree, spoke as a working mother who has relied on Food Bank For NYC’s mobile pantry.

“Everyone is just one break in a supply chain away from hunger,” Moore said.

She described the people she sees every day — families, students, parents working multiple jobs. “You see people doing everything right. And it’s still not enough.”

For Aaliyah Bartholomew, a Biology student at Medgar Evers College and member of Food Bank For NYC’s Emerging Youth Advocacy Leaders Council, the contrast couldn’t be sharper. She grew up in Grenada, where her family farmed, bartered with neighbors, and shared whatever was in season — where you could step outside and grow something. Then she arrived in New York City and learned what a food desert was.

“New York is one of the richest cities,” she said, “but not everyone is living that rich life.”

Now advocating for food justice here, she described how hunger shows up in the small, daily decisions students don’t talk about. “You skip breakfast. You skip lunch. You stretch what you have. And it affects everything — your ability to focus, to learn, to show up.”

Gloria Pitagorsky, Vice Chair of Food Bank For NYC’s Board of Directors, knows that extending a hand changes everything. Her family arrived in this country as immigrants with very little — and organizations like Food Bank For NYC met them at their moment of need.

“My story’s not a unique one,” she said. “When someone’s at their lowest moment, a simple gesture — getting food, knowing that someone cares about your well-being — that matters. And if you’re in a place to give back, you do.”

Then Taryn Delaney Smith, a comedian, actor, former Miss New York and content creator with more than 1.6 million followers, shifted the conversation from awareness to action.

“I’m still angry,” she said. “I’m angry about the policies. I’m angry about the apathy. But I don’t think it’s about not being mad — I think it’s about what you do with that anger.”

“So the question is — what are you going to do about it?”

It’s a question the room was built to answer.

United Airlines — a longtime Food Bank For NYC partner whose employees and customers call this city home — put it plainly: “Investing in the communities we serve is part of who we are. It’s how we uplift the city and show how good leads the way,” said Lyndsay Lawler, Senior Specialist of Community and Market Impact.

After the panel, the conversation didn’t end — Guests kept going — packing a total of 500 hygiene kits, making new connections, and carrying the energy of the morning out into the city with them.

Because the women keeping this city running — laying its floors, studying in its classrooms, leading our businesses and board rooms, stretching every dollar — deserve a city that runs for them, too.

That’s not charity. That’s Woman to Woman. Ten years in, and we’re just getting started.

Ready to show up for women and families across New York City? Connect with our Corporate Engagement team to explore opportunities.

BRONX, NEW YORK — Two days before its 43rd anniversary, Food Bank For NYC did what it’s always done: showed up when our city needs us most.

On Sunday, staff gathered at the Hunts Point warehouse for our Founder’s Day Repack event — forming assembly lines, moving with purpose — to pack more than 500 emergency grocery bags for TSA workers impacted by the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Each bag was filled with fresh produce and pantry staples, including products from Goya, for families facing real financial strain with no end in sight.

TSA workers kept our airports safe. They reported to work. And they missed two consecutive paychecks. Many faced impossible choices: rent or groceries, a prescription or the electric bill. Some had to take on debt, fall behind on bills, or even sell plasma just to make ends meet. These are hardworking public servants who did nothing wrong and still found themselves in need.

This day of action was a reminder: when New Yorkers come together — in warehouse assembly lines, at airport gates, across borough lines — no one has to face hunger alone. That’s exactly why we exist.

This effort came together thanks to the generosity of our partners. Stop & Shop provided the financial support that made the food possible. Delta Air Lines helped distribute bags directly at JFK — reaching workers on the job, where they needed it most. That kind of coordination matters. It’s the difference between intention and impact.

This isn’t the first time Food Bank For NYC has mobilized during a shutdown. We were here for the 43-day shutdown last year too. Showing up in crisis isn’t a program. It’s who we are.

For 43 years, Food Bank For NYC has worked to make sure every New Yorker has access to the food and resources they need to thrive — not someday, not eventually. Now. Because no one who shows up to work, who plays by the rules, who keeps this city moving, should ever have to choose between feeding their family and keeping the lights on.