By Lisa Yakuboff,

Last year, the Food Bank helped recruit, organize and manage over 1,250 volunteers for the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival. This September 29 – October 2, 2011, another round of volunteers will join top chefs and culinary luminaries as they share their passion for food –all coming together for hunger relief.

Ever since its inception I’ve wanted to be a part of the Festival. I love experiencing new foods and learning new recipes or creative ideas and trade secrets from well-respected chefs. Oh, and did I mention I love to eat? Last year I finally got to go, but not in the way I originally expected to – I had just started my job at the Food Bank and, as an employee, we are encouraged to volunteer.  I was so excited to go and it was an amazing experience, working with volunteers who not only love food but were also dedicated to the Food Bank’s mission to end hunger.  It was a win-win situation that was incredibly rewarding. The Festival is the largest volunteer effort the Food Bank coordinates each year and the stats are impressive: last year more than 1,250 volunteers donated over 5,000 hours of their time to over the course of the long weekend, and $1.2 million was raised for the Food Bank and Share Our Strength, a national hunger-relief charity organization dedicated to helping children.

The Festival tagline this year is “Eat. Drink. End Hunger”  - a fitting motto for the weekend’s volunteers.   Last year, I learned just how special Festival volunteers are: not only did they get to enjoy themselves at a great festival, they also got a little something extra from the experience because the time and effort put into volunteering helped the Food Bank raise money to put food onto the table of those who can’t afford it. Something that drew me to work at the Food Bank in the first place was the feeling that everyone should be able to have access to, and enjoy, wonderful foods. It was so reassuring to meet chefs and work with volunteers who share the same belief: no one should go hungry.

A highlight for me were the individual chef talks.  Alton Brown, Anne Burrell – a member of Food Bank’s Culinary Council - and Ming Tsai were very approachable and incredibly engaged with their fans. We collected tickets, offered directions, worked with the chefs, and made sure everyone at the events had a great time. There were volunteers who had worked with the Food Bank for years in all different ways (the returning Food Bank volunteers I spoke with loved volunteering at our warehouse repack room and our community kitchen), there were those who had only volunteered with the festival and come back every year, and those who heard about it, wanted to get involved, and were volunteering with the Food Bank for the first time – just like me.

This year there are more than 100 events calling for volunteers, with so many opportunities to meet new people, even famous chefs.  This year, I’m hoping to volunteer at our information booth, maybe work the brand new “Fried” event with Tyler Florence and Elizabeth Karmel, or Rock & Bowl with Anne Burrell, or Sweet (the very first event in 2007, from which the entire festival grew).

There are so many fun options to choose from... I look forward to seeing you at some of them!

For more information about events, check out the Festival site. Interested in volunteering? Click here!

By Astrid Spota,

Heralded as the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit for low-wage workers that provides enough financial assistance to raise some families above the poverty line. Worth up to $7,549 for families, EITC can provide a working individual or family with a significant injection of funds that can help fill the gaps in their budget and keep food on the table.

According to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the additional income from EITC lifted 6.5 million people out of poverty in 2009, including 3.3 million children. In addition, many families, upon receiving the refund, make human capital investments to help reduce their dependence on government benefits. For example, in a study conducted by Syracuse University and the Center for Law and Human Services, more than half of EITC recipients surveyed used their credit for social mobility purposes, including paying for tuition and other education expenses; transportation costs; and relocation.

Not only does EITC help reduce poverty, it also increases the purchasing power of communities, thereby stimulating local economies. The degree to which localities benefit however, varies from community to community. According to a report by the United States Conferences of Mayors, it is estimated that every dollar invested in EITC generates an additional $1.50 to $2.00 spent in local communities where recipients live. This means that some low-income neighborhoods are gaining as much as $1.84 billion annually through the EITC.

Last year, the Food Bank For New York City’s Income Tax Services Program helped to bring more than $65 million in tax refunds and credits to New York City’s working poor. If you would like become an IRS-certified tax preparer and volunteer to join the effort to bring tax assistance to NYC next year, email us with your information and we will send you detailed information when the 2012 tax season gets closer!

by David McCoy

The tax season begins in earnest for most New Yorkers in late January, but here at the Food Bank it really begins in early October. You see, the Food Bank’s Free Income Tax Services program utilizes close to 500 staff and volunteers — including approximately 250 IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers and translators fluent in more than five languages. From October all the way through January, when our tax sites open their doors, the Food Bank works hard to ensure that all the training and outreach necessary to provide top-notch tax services to New York City’s working poor is complete.

When tax day finally arrives, the months of hard work is rewarded by the impact our tax services team knows we are making on our city. This year, our Free Income Tax Services program helped complete more than 37,000 returns, providing over $65 million in tax refunds and credits for low-income New Yorkers. In addition to the benefit this brings directly to our tax service clients, it is also gratifying to know that bringing $65 million back into New York City is a boon to the local economy during the difficult economic times we still find ourselves in.

A program that brings tens of thousands of low-income New Yorkers to our doors to address their finances also provides a unique opportunity for the Food Bank to address food poverty on many levels. In addition to tax services, the Food Bank helps to connect our client to available services including food stamps and low-cost health insurance options.

Helping our clients make long-term changes to their financial health, our staff also provides an introduction to SaveUSA — a New York City program that helps low-income New Yorkers open savings accounts — as well as a new pilot program from the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation for low-income entrepreneurs, financial management and tax preparation.

While the tax season ends for most people on April 15, the Food Bank continues to provide services at our Community Kitchen & Food Pantry in Harlem — helping our clients respond to IRS disputes and continuing to file current and past year returns.

As our work certainly carries on, I have to extend a huge thank you to all of our supporters — particularly our army of volunteers, tax-season staff and partners. We simply could not have brought more than $65 million to our low-income neighbors without your support.

If you would like to join the effort to bring tax assistance to NYC next year, email us with your information and we will email you detailed information when the 2012 tax season gets closer! 

by Mallory Shan

For Volunteer Appreciation Week, the Food Bank would like to honor Patricia Cadogan, who has been a volunteer with the Food Bank For New York City since December 2009. What stemmed as a moderate interest in giving back to the community at that time grew into her passion in life.  Patricia now volunteers her time and talents for everything from special events to long term projects such as the Food Bank’s Tax Assistance program.

Our Tax Assistance program is unique in that it requires more time and dedication than any other volunteer opportunity at the Food Bank. Volunteers are trained to become IRS-certified tax preparers and are dispatched to tax sites all over the five boroughs to provide free tax services to low income New Yorkers. Here is Patricia’s story as a tax assistance volunteer.

Tell us a little bit about your volunteer experience with the Food Bank, specifically in the Tax Assistance program.
In 2009, when I prepared for tax season, I thought that my accounting background and my desire to serve would be enough. However the complex rules and language, and unfamiliar territory of ever changing tax laws were definitely challenges that I had to overcome, and I learned a lot.

I requested to be placed in a tax site that served a Spanish-speaking community because I knew those areas had a high level of need. It made the Spanish-speaking clients comfortable when they realized I could communicate quite well in their own language! It is a beautiful thing to know that with each client I encounter, one more deserving person is able to receive their tax return, and is able to leave with a smile. 

Why do you volunteer with the Food Bank?
I had seen a segment on the Food Bank's Tax Assistance program on Tiempo a few years ago. This is my second tax season with the Food Bank and my commitment to this program will continue. I keep learning more and have enjoyed working with my site manager, Michelle, and her team at the Jackson Heights tax site.

What would you say to someone considering volunteering with the Food Bank?
Please don't hesitate to sign up when you have the urge to volunteer. The Tax Assistance program has grown and is very organized. The sites that you would work at provide clients with a one-stop opportunity to apply for a variety of services. As long as there are volunteers, the clients will keep showing up for help.

The recruitment and training process of Tax Assistance volunteers will begin in November — if you are interested in participating, email me with your information and we will email you detailed infomration when the 2012 tax season gets closer!

Mallory Shan is assisting the Food Bank’s Volunteer Services department for one year as an NYC Civic Corps Volunteer.

by Mallory Shan

For Volunteer Appreciation Week, the Food Bank would like to honor Ranjeet Kalsi, who has volunteered at our Community Kitchen & Food Pantry of West Harlem through Touro College for more than a year now. The lead contact in scheduling several student groups every month, Ranjeet is ceaselessly energetic and enthusiastic in his volunteer efforts. Food Bank For New York City is so proud to have him, and all the other volunteers from Touro College, work with us week after week in providing food to the people of West Harlem. We hope you’ll enjoy meeting Ranjeet as much as we did…

Tell us a little about your volunteer experience with the Food Bank.
 I’ve had a great time volunteering with the Food Bank for New York City.  Time really does fly. I remember the first day; when the clock struck 4 o’clock, the doors swung open and the Community Kitchen flooded with New Yorkers in need. I gazed in amazement as large groups of people were given food quickly. After a few minutes, I was effectively integrated into the system, handing out drinks and carefully replacing trays. Serving isn’t the only thing that is done at the kitchen. Preparing the food is a very essential part of the process, and rightfully takes nearly all morning and afternoon. Work done in the food pantry is also important, where eligible New Yorkers are able to select the food they want to take home themselves in a set up that looks like a supermarket. At times it can be exhausting, but in the end it is unquestionably always worth it. The Food Bank’s Community Kitchen is many things: a supermarket, a restaurant, but most importantly it is a place where one can help others. Knowing that you helped someone is the greatest reward of all. 

Why do you volunteer with the Food Bank?
I am a pre-med, and I start med school this coming fall. I want to be a doctor because I want to help others – the same reason I volunteer with the Food Bank. I feel it is important to give back and to be an active member of the community. 

What would you say to someone considering volunteering with the Food Bank?
The Food Bank is a great place to volunteer. The staff is welcoming and has a great sense of humor. You will never forget the people you work with and the feeling you get when someone with a big smile wholeheartedly says, “Thank you.”   If you want to help others, the Food Bank is the place to go.

Mallory Shan is assisting the Food Bank’s Volunteer Services department for one year as an NYC Civic Corps Volunteer.

by Mallory Shan

From top: Bank of America volunteers repacking food at our Bronx warehouse for delivery to soup kitchens and food pantries; A volunteer tax preparer, trained through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program; Volunteers helped set up and prepare and serve food at Tang’s Natural’s 2010 NYC Dumpling Festival, which helped raised more than 220,000 meals for New Yorkers in need

We are celebrating National Volunteer Week here at the Food Bank For New York City! This week-long celebration, April 10–16, honors the more than 16,000 individuals who have contributed to the Food Bank’s fight against poverty and hunger by donating their time and skills — to help prepare taxes for our city’s working poor, provide nutrition education to families in low-income neighborhoods, serve meals at our Community Kitchen and throughout our citywide network, repack food at our Bronx warehouse and help our events and campaigns run smoothly.

The founder of National Volunteer Week, CEO of Points of Light Institute and co-founder of HandsOn Network Michelle Nunn, expresses the heart of this national week as one that “focuses attention on the impact and power of volunteerism and service as a vital part of civic leadership.” This resonates with one of my co-workers, Pan Venkatraman, and me since we are year-long volunteers through Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Civic Corps Program. We have witnessed, through our engagement with volunteers and being volunteers ourselves, the potential for change that lies in service.

Stay tuned to our blog throughout the week for stories of just a couple of our amazing volunteers. We hope that their testimonies will inspire many more to join the Food Bank and volunteer to fight hunger!

Mallory Shan is assisting the Food Bank’s Volunteer Services department for one year as an NYC Civic Corps Volunteer 

by Alexandra Talbot

As the founder of CHEFs for Schools, Inc. — a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that strives to alleviate food inequality in underserved communities by training and placing student volunteers in worthwhile service opportunities - I am proud to support CookShop, the core nutrition education program of the Food Bank For New York City.

Since CHEFs’s inception in the spring of 2007, we have made tremendous strides toward our goals of improving food security, alleviating childhood obesity, and achieving food justice by supporting equal access to affordable and nutritious groceries. Our partnership with the Food Bank has been a major factor in reaching these goals.

I learned about CookShop while working as an intern at the Food Bank in the fall of 2008. CookShop is a federally-funded nutrition education program that helps children, teens and adults develop nutrition knowledge and cooking skills through hands on workshops. The program currently reaches approximately 30,000 New Yorkers, including students in more than 1,300 public elementary school classes and after-school programs.

I quickly realized the benefits of placing volunteers in CookShop Classroom for Elementary School, the program’s component for students in pre-K through second grade. Volunteers enjoy building relationships with elementary school students in underserved neighborhoods, and seeing the impact of their work as the children develop new skills and learn to make healthy food choices. By assisting the teachers, volunteers make CookShop even easier to implement, helping to increase the number of participating classrooms.

CHEFs helps recruit CookShop volunteers through a unique cultivation program in which university chapters offer educational, free and fun events that bring students together around a shared interest in food issues. For example, the CHEFs for Schools’ Chapter at NYU offers free monthly cooking classes that unite and educate prospective and current volunteers around delicious, nutritious meals, while the CUNY Hunter Chapter will launch a food justice speaker series in the fall.

CHEFs aim is to recruit the most capable and motivated volunteers possible. The CookShop program requires no prior experience in public schools or food preparation, welcoming a wide variety of volunteers ranging from college students to working professionals. CookShop provides all volunteers with free training to improve their understanding of food preparation skills with elementary school children and demonstrate how to support a classroom during exploratory and cooking lessons.

I hope that you will join us in our efforts. Please take a moment to review the Food Bank’s various volunteer opportunities, including CookShop, and learn more about CHEFs’s efforts to impact food justice through volunteerism.

by Daniel Buckley

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service — a campaign of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages Americans in public service — asks us all to answer what Dr. King once said is "life's most persistent and urgent question...What are you doing for others?"

With the majority of the Food Bank's network of approximately 1,000 community based member programs relying on volunteers to stay in operation, New Yorkers are likely volunteering in almost every neighborhood throughout the five boroughs today to make sure that none of our neighbors have to skip meals to make ends meet.

This year, to mark the 25th anniversary of MLK Jr. Day, the Corporation for National and Community Service is asking us all to take the MLK 25 Challenge — a call to all Americans to honor Dr. King by pledging to take at least 25 actions during 2011 to make a difference for others and strengthen our communities.

With opportunities to help our hungry neighbors by volunteering at our Bronx warehouse, doing nutrition education at NYC elementary schools, serving meals through our citywide food assistance network and more, we hope that you will take the MLK 25 Challenge — and that the Food Bank can help you reach your goals!

Have ideas for how to meet the MLK 25 Challenge? Tell us in the comments!

by Brian Pham

Check out more bags decorated by Food Bank volunteers — let us know which is your favorite!

Volunteer Services has recently been working with great partners and volunteers to help provide reusable food pantry bags to local members of the Food Bank’s citywide food assistance network. In some instances the volunteers are even filling the bags with nonperishable food donations to be provided to New Yorkers in need!

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for our network food pantries to provide plastic or paper bags for the New Yorkers who rely on them for food on a weekly or monthly basis. These reusable food pantry bags allow our clients a simple and cost effective way to take home their needed groceries. Not only do the bags help our food pantries save money on bags, they help save the environment! While the color of hunger awareness — and of the Food Bank — is orange, we do like to be as green as possible!

If your company or group is interested in volunteering with the Food Bank — repacking food at our warehouse, serving meals at the Community Kitchen, making pantry bags, or more — fill out our online volunteer application today!

 

by Pan Venkatraman

As the Food Bank For New York City's two New York City Civic Corps members, Mallory Shan and I wear a couple of different hats. While on the one hand we're akin to full-time staff at the Food Bank, we also have duties for the NYC Civic Corps, which itself is part of the greater AmeriCorps organization. AmeriCorps is a federal service program, created under President Bill Clinton in 1993, that engages citizens from all over the U.S. in long-term projects, including anything from after-school programs to special-needs advocacy to environmental clean-up. As two recent college grads serious about making a difference in our country, Mallory and I couldn't have found a better fit than working at the Food Bank with the AmeriCorps program.

A few weeks ago we attended the 2010 New York State AmeriCorps Kickoff —an event acknowledging and celebrating the work of the nearly 1,200 AmeriCorps members in the state. The kickoff represented a fantastic opportunity to learn, network, and reaffirm our commitment to serving those in need — in our case, the hungry citizens of New York City. After an early morning bus to the state's capital in Albany, we decamped to the sight of more than a thousand bright and enthusiastic corps members. We began the day with a rousing round of PT (physical training, to the uninitiated), and soon were treated to a packed program of inspring speeches, addresses and testimonials. John Gomperts, current head of the program, led a swearing in and recitation of the AmeriCorps pledge, committing us to "to make our people safer, smarter and healthier." Certainly the highlight of the day was the address given by La Verna J. Fountain, President and founder of the Defiant Hope Consulting and Training Company. Highlighting her struggles out of poverty, her battle with multiple sclerosis and instances of prejudice in her own life, La Verna challenged AmeriCorps members to "say yes, where others would say no," and to keep fighting for positive change even as naysayers will "stab you in the front."

On the bus ride back, Mallory and I had ample opportunity to reflect on the mandate put before us. We will certainly face challenges as we work on projects for the Food Bank, from tax assistance to the CookShop nutrition education program to improving the Community Kitchen and Food Pantry of West Harlem. And though things may get tough, we'll be certain to keep this pledge in mind: "I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done."