by Daniel Buckley

It’s that time of year again, when we use the passing of another year to wipe the slate clean, consider how to add meaning to our lives or reflect on what our lives are missing and make resolutions for the future.

As the major hunger-relief organization addressing food poverty within the five boroughs, the Food Bank For New York City promotes healthy eating and fitness — staple New Year’s resolutions — and asks our supporters to do what they can to make a difference throughout the year.

Here is a selection of resolutions from our staff. We hope that our work inspires you throughout the year to take actions that will make a difference in your life and the lives of New Yorkers in need — and maybe our personal resolutions can add that extra a bit of inspiration to help make your New Year’s resolutions a reality.

Triada Stampas, Director of Government Relations & Public Education
“I resolve to eat more vegetables!”

Heather Joseph, MS, Volunteer Services Manager
“I plan to run a half-marathon — so that includes changing my diet, returning to the gym and starting to run outdoors. I also will be returning to Bikram Yoga.”

Roxanne Henry, Community Outreach Manager
“This year, I hope to begin a new chapter in my life, so I do not see it as a New Year’s resolution, but I resolve to be more present and conscientious in all that I do: in eating well, in being good to my body, when speaking to people, in my work, etc. I claim this aspiration with all honesty and sincerity!”

Ashley Goforth, Communications & Marketing Assistant
“My New Year’s resolution is to get my roomies to donate to the Food Bank member food pantry that is across the street from our apartment. They just found out there was a pantry there a few weeks ago.”

Claire Elyse LaRoche, Business Partnerships Assistant
“I intend to spend more time biking around Brooklyn in 2010.”

Catharine Bufalino, Director of Communications & Marketing
“My resolution is to cook for every person I love in the coming year. Geography allowing — I’ll aim to give them the healthiest, most delicious meal I can conjure. Wish me luck!”

John Leggio, CookShop for Adults Associate
“I resolve to spend more time jogging with my dog Ovie.”

Caitlin Buckley, Communications Manager
“As a vegetarian but not a vegan, I resolve to consider animal welfare when shopping for eggs and dairy products.”

Kim Keller, Director of Member Services
“My New Year’s resolution is to go to the gym on a consistent basis. I usually maintain a good three-day-a-week workout schedule for about three months, then fall off the wagon for about three months, then get back on. This year I want to maintain my schedule at two days a week — every week.”

Daniel Buckley, Online Communications Manager
“I resolve to eat less meat and more vegetables, and be more conscious of farming practices for the meat that I buy.”

Christina Riley, MS, RD, Community Nutritionist
“I joined a gym so I can start training for a relay marathon in the spring and attend yoga classes on a regular basis to improve my fitness and encourage a little more relaxation in my life.”

Kate Hindin, Business Partnerships Manager
“My resolution is to be more carefree and fearless. Stop worrying, start living!”

by Kate Hindin

I can’t think of a better way to end my time at the Food Bank For New York City (I will be moving back to California at the beginning of February) then with the success of our NYC Goes Orange campaign. Turning New York orange is no easy feat, and over the past year and a half I have been able to help light the city orange twice — raising more than six million meals for New Yorkers in need!

The Empire State Building lit orange for NYC Goes Orange 2005—2009

The success of this annual food, fund and awareness raising campaign rests entirely on the enthusiasm of New Yorkers – young and old, from Staten Island to the Bronx – who come together with their families, friends and businesses to help our hungry neighbors. A campaign that began as a single week now lasts the entire holiday season.

This campaign would not have been possible without the generous support from our more than 300 partner organizations, including Barclays, FedEx, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Vanguard Direct, Disney, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Goldman Sachs. The campaign is also made possible by the dozens of fundraising events and offerings that took place across the city — from Z100’s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden to the delicious “Go Orange” cupcakes and cookies at Bay Ridge’s Ivy Bakery — along with the more than 300 virtual and traditional food drives, which alone raised more than 250,000 meals for hungry New Yorkers!

I would like to personally thank everyone who participated in the campaign and helped make it our most successful to date! Whether you partnered with the Food Bank, volunteered at an event, donated or helped spread the word — you helped make a real difference for New Yorkers in need.

Though I may no longer have the opportunity to light New York City orange, my time here has been transformed by the color — and I will never forget the experiences and opportunities I have had at the Food Bank!

To browse our NYC Goes Orange–related blog posts, click on the title of this post and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Merry Christmas from the Food Bank For New York City! As you exchange gifts tomorrow morning, please remember the New Yorkers in need who are having a happy Christmas thanks to your support.

Food Bank IT Associate Louie “Santa” Lacarbonara with some of the nutritious food collected during our supporters’ holiday food drives

By Kate Hindin

I can’t think of a better way to end my time at the Food Bank For New York City – I will be moving back to California at the beginning of February – than with the success of our NYC Goes Orange campaign. Turning New York Orange is no easy feat, and over the past year and a half I have been able to help light the city Orange twice – raising more than six million meals for New Yorkers in need!

The success of this annual food, fund and awareness raising campaign rests entirely on the enthusiasm of New Yorkers – young and old, from Staten Island to the Bronx – who come together with their families, friends and businesses to help our hungry neighbors. A campaign that began as a single week now lasts the entire holiday season and incorporates more than 300 partner organizations. This campaign would not have been possible without the generous support from our sponsors: Barclays, FedEx, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Vanguard Direct, Disney, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, and Goldman Sachs. The campaign is also made possible by the dozens of fundraising events that took place across the city– from Z100’s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden to the delicious “Go Orange” cupcakes and cookies at Bay Ridge’s Ivy Bakery – along with the more than 300 virtual and traditional food drives, which alone raised over 250,000 meals for hungry New Yorkers!

I would like to personally thank everyone who participated in the campaign and helped make it our most successful to date! Whether you partnered with the Food Bank, volunteered at an event, donated or helped spread the word – you helped make a real difference for New Yorkers in need.

Though I may no longer have the opportunity to light New York City orange, my time here has been transformed by the color – and I will never forget the experiences and opportunities I have had at the Food Bank!

by Daniel Buckley

…to Shop with Purpose for Christmas!
Download the Food Bank For New York City’s new We-Care Reminder, and when you shop online at any of the 800+ participating vendors — including Verizon, Amazon and the Disney Store – a percentage of your purchase will benefit the Food Bank. It takes 1 minute to download the plug-in and costs you $0 — do it today!

…to get the perfect stocking stuffers!
Pick up some Jacques Torres Bean to Bar chocolate bars and give your little ones something sweet that helps New Yorkers in need.

…OR LESS to order your holiday sweets!
Do you really have time for baking at this point? Order Ivy Bakery’s “Go Orange” cookies and cupcakes, save yourself some time and benefit the Food Bank.

…for that big holiday dinner shopping trip!
Look for our Check-Out Hunger display at the check out (where else?) of your local A&P, Fairway, Food Emporium, Foodtown, King Kullen, Pathmark, ShopRite or Waldbaum’s. Pick up a $1, $3 or $5 donation “coupon” and a gift in that amount will be automatically made to the Food Bank. Remember, ever $1 helps to provide 5 meals for our neighbors in need.

...to honor someone you care about!
Make a tribute gift in honor of a family member or friend and help provide meals for New Yorkers in need in their name.

…to get that unique gift!
Send a loved one to Good Commons's Winter Food & Wine Expedition in Vermont to enjoy winter activities, a private chef and all the warmth and comfort Good Commons provides!

It’s not really a full week — just wanted to make sure all you procrastinators realize….And, while it’s actually less than a week until Christmas, you have just a week and a half to make your tax-deductible, year-end donations! From all of us at the Food Bank For New York City, have a great Christmas, and good luck getting through the week!

 By Daniel Buckley

…to Shop with Purpose for Christmas!
Download the Food Bank For New York City’s new We-Care Reminder, and when you shop online at any of the 800+ participating vendors – including Verizon, Amazon and the Disney Store – a percentage of your purchase will benefit the Food Bank. It takes 1 minute to download the plug-in and costs you $0 – do it today!

…to get the perfect stocking stuffers!
Pick up some Jacques Torres Bean to Bar chocolate bars and give your little ones something sweet that helps New Yorkers in need.

…OR LESS to order your holiday sweets!
Do you really have time for baking at this point? Order Ivy Bakery’s “Go Orange” cookies and cupcakes, save yourself some time and benefit the Food Bank.

…for that big holiday dinner shopping trip!
Look for our Check-Out Hunger display at the check out (where else?) of your local A&P, Fairway, Food Emporium, Foodtown, King Kullen, Pathmark, ShopRite or Waldbaum’s. Pick up a $1, $3 or $5 donation “coupon” and a gift in that amount will be automatically made to the Food Bank. Remember, ever $1 helps to provide 5 meals for our neighbors in need.

…to get that unique gift!
Send a loved one to Good Commons’s Winter Food & Wine Expedition in Vermont to enjoy winter activities, a private chef and all the warmth and comfort Good Commons provides!

It’s not really a full week — just wanted to make sure all you procrastinators realize….And, while it’s actually less than a week until Christmas, you have just a week and a half to make your tax-deductible, year-end donations! From all of us at the Food Bank For New York City, have a great Christmas, and good luck getting through the week!

by Daniel Buckley

The Food Bank continually works to raise awareness and support for hunger relief through media, providing information, data and stories of those in need.

Here are some of the recent stories that have featured the Food Bank so far this holiday season:

THIS WEEK: Fox 5, “Good Day New York”
NY Weather Authority Mike Woods visits the Food Bank For New York City’s 90,000 square-foot Bronx warehouse to help get the word out about hunger in our city, interview President and CEO Lucy Cabrera and repack food for delivery to food pantries and soup kitchens.

WNYC, “The Brian Lehrer Show”
Áine Duggan, the Food Bank For New York City's Vice President of Research, Policy & Education, discusses hunger in New York and demand at food assistance programs across the city.

The New York Times, “City Room” blog, “Stimulus Funds Stock Pantries and Soup Kitchens”
Nationwide, food assistance programs received an extra $100 million in resources from the stimulus, on top of the $250 million that was originally budgeted. New York State’s financing soared 118 percent to $45 million, of which $28.5 million went to New York City.

NY1, “Food Bank For New York City Prepares Pre-Thanksgiving Day Feast”
With more than three million New Yorkers experiencing food shortages, the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen & Food Pantry of West Harlem prepared a Thanksgiving feast for those most in need.

Time/The Associated Press, “Food Banks Go High Tech to Feed the Hungry”
Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry that increasingly supplies their goods.

“Lola Berry New York,” Episode 4
Australian television personality Lola Berry drops by the Food Bank’s downtown office to interview Vice President of Policy, Research and Education Áine Duggan before subwaying it up to Harlem to speak with Jesse Taylor, the Senior Director of our Community Kitchen & Food Pantry of West Harlem.

Menorah at Bowling Green Park, a short walk form the Food Bank’s main office

By Daniel Buckley

Happy Hanukkah from the Food Bank For New York City! Please remember New Yorkers in need this holiday as you enjoy your latkas, spend time with family and loved ones and exchange the gifts that show you care.

By Ashley Goforth

It’s that time of year again – you know, the one where you find yourself stretching your budget to buy gifts for the people you care about. Maybe it’s not as bad as last year, or maybe you are facing a depletion of your savings and realize it’s going to be a smaller holiday this time. As someone who’s always into helping others and showing people I care, I’ve put together a few ideas for surviving the holiday season.

For the brother you’ve already bought a star and donated a chicken for:
Give meals for New Yorkers in need – in his honor! Every $1 you give helps provide 5 meals to New Yorkers in need. Donate $25 dollars, and when you personalize the tribute gift card we’ll send to your little bro, let him know that 250 meals will be provided to hungry New Yorkers in his name, thanks to you! (Or, donate $97,500 and let Uncle Steve know the gift he received can provide a meal to every inhabitant on Staten Island.

For the friend that’s always saying the holidays are too commercial:
Volunteer for an afternoon. Snap a photo of the fun you have buttering bread, mopping floors and slinging soup. Get a frame from a dollar store and voila! Give it to your friend with a card letting her know you donated your time on her behalf for a day of service. Find a program in your area to support with our program locator.
REGIFT IDEA! If someone give this to you as a gift, schedule a volunteer day with them as a way to give back!
BONUS POINTS: Make your day of volunteering into the first step toward a New Year’s resolution to volunteer more often.

For the aunt who constantly brings up your lack of motivation or (insert character flaw here):
Sign up for a personalized Virtual Food Drive – where the donations are virtual, but the food is for real. Just sign up, set a fundraising goal, post a photo if you like, and email friends and family inviting them to help others during the holiday season by contributing toward your goal. Plus, get the word out on Twitter, by donating your Facebook status or creating a video ask on YouTube. Be creative!

For the parents who still complain about having to clean out your room:
Spring isn’t the only time for cleaning! Clean out your childhood room or city apartment and donate excess food and items to your local food assistance program, many of which provide more than just food to their clients. Do you really need three winter coats? Do you really still want a bedroom filled with stuffed animals? A winter cleaning of your stuff can provide much needed canned food, clothes and toys to your local pantry or kitchen. Check out our Food Program Locator to find a program near you.

REGIFT IDEA! Donate that t-shirt from Aunt Laura you never wear. Just tell her it didn’t fit too well and you thought someone in need to get better use out of it. How mad can she be, knowing you meant well by donating gently used items. Remember to call ahead and ask if your local program can handle the amount of items you plan on bringing.
BONUS POINTS: Volunteer for the afternoon when you drop off your stuff.

BONUS NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IDEA:
Donate your time, a bit of gumption and your skills and volunteer during tax season. Annually, the Food Bank’s Tax Assistance Program has assisted low- to moderate-income New Yorkers complete up to 50,000 tax returns, helping to provide as much at $100 million in tax refunds. You can be Pat Sajak with a calculator. The happiness and financial stability you could help bring a New Yorker in need is more than worth the effort.

BONUS NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IDEA:
Donate your time, a bit of gumption and your skills and volunteer during tax season. Annually, the Food Bank’s Tax Assistance Program has assisted low- to moderate-income New Yorkers complete up to 50,000 tax returns, helping to provide as much at $100 million in tax refunds. You can be Pat Sajak with a calculator. The happiness and financial stability you could help bring a New Yorker in need is more than worth the effort.

by David Grossnickle

Top to bottom: Paula Deen and Food Bank President and CEO Lucy Cabrera; Trucks at our loading docks; Food Bank volunteers; all photos by Peter Dressler View more photos!

An important source of protein, meat is a highly valued item that the Food Bank provides to New Yorkers who struggle to afford food for themselves and their families. Recently, long-standing partner Smithfield Foods, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Food Network celebrity cook Paula Deen helped make sure that New Yorkers are receiving the food and nourishment they need when they kicked off the Feeding the Hungry’ Coast-to-Coast Tour at our Bronx warehouse.

As part of the launch for this nationwide campaign, Smithfield made a generous donation to the Food Bank of more than one million servings of roasts, ribs, hams and other products. Not only was the food donation itself an amazing gift, but the media event held at our warehouse helped to raise awareness for our food distribution efforts. And it definitely didn’t hurt to have Paula Deen on hand at our 90,000 square-foot warehouse. After a brief statement to the press about the importance of recognizing the hungry among us and the essential work of the Food Bank, Paula enthusiastically declared, “Let’s unload those trucks!” A human chain — including Paula herself, Food Bank volunteers, President and CEO Lucy Cabrera and representatives from Smithfield, the UFCW and A&P Supermarkets — quickly formed to unload a truck full of hams.

The Smithfield trailers lined up to be unloaded at our warehouse docks was a wonderful site to see. Even more satisfying was, in the days to come, watching the protein-rich products being sent back out — this time in Food Bank trailers, en route to the more than 1,000 food assistance programs we serve. Our ability to receive, inventory and deliver food to hungry New Yorkers so quickly is a testament to all of our donors, partners and volunteers. Thank you all!