Last week, the Food Bank For New York City conducted its Thanksgiving food distribution. Over three days, more than 150 members of our citywide food assistance network made the trip to our Bronx warehouse to pick up over 10,000 turkeys and chicken roasters as well as thousands of pounds of potatoes, carrots, onions and apples. This food is will provide nutritious Thanksgiving meals for New Yorkers who, without our network, would have to face a very real possibility of going without a holiday meal.

On Wednesday, I took the trip to the Bronx myself to help out. I also took the opportunity to talk with a few of our network members about what it’s like on the front lines of hunger relief over the holidays. Here is what Cassandra Agredo, Director of Xavier Mission at Chelsea’s Church of St. Francis Xavier, had to say.
-Daniel Buckley

Cassandra Agredo, Director of Food Bank network member Xavier Mission, at our Bronx warehouse to pick up food for Thanksgiving services

There is definitely a special need around the holidays. Our guests struggle all year round. Many rely on food stamps and multiple food assistance programs to keep food on the table. But when you have the added expenses of the holiday – you know, a turkey is expensive – people need a bit more help.

With so many people facing hard times, especially since the recession began, we do everything we can to make sure everyone in our neighborhood is able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.

In the past two and a half years, the number of people coming to us for food assistance has increased drastically. Attendance at our soup kitchen rose a full 33 percent. We are seeing people who’ve lost their jobs, a lot of whom are coming to us for the first time. By the time they ask for help, many are at the end of their savings and don’t really know what they’re doing at a food pantry. Some have applied for food stamps, but that often won’t take them through the month.

Thanksgiving is our biggest event of the year. At our soup kitchen, we prepare and serve about 200 Thanksgiving meals to seniors and disabled individuals in the community. We partner with Beth Israel Medical Center and a health care organization called Isabella to locate and provide meals to about 300 homebound individuals around Manhattan on Thanksgiving Day.

We also pack Thanksgiving baskets for the families that rely on our food pantry. Each basket includes a ten-pound turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, fruit, vegetables, pudding, cake mix – basically everything you need for a happy Thanksgiving! Our baskets provide meals for 450 to 500 family members, so at the end of Thanksgiving day we help provide holiday meals for up to 1,000 people.

 Making that happen definitely is not an easy task, but it makes me feel like I’m part of something much bigger than myself. We just try to give people whatever they need to make it a special day.

Your support helps the Food Bank serve programs like Xavier MIssion throughout the five boroughs. Thank you!