BROOKLYN, NY —In the middle of an extreme heat warning, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees, Food Bank For New York City and Major League Eating (MLE) didn’t blink. They showed up — fresh produce, grocery staples, and 100,000 hot dogs in hand. Because New Yorkers still need to eat, no matter what the thermometer says.
The distribution took place at the Food Bank For NYC’s Mobile Pantry at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, bringing free groceries directly into neighborhoods. For the families who lined up in the heat, it meant a full cart and one less thing to worry about.
Major League Eating knows this city. Every year, New York hosts The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island — and this year, MLE made it clear the relationship runs both ways.
Forty-eight hours before the competition, while most competitive eaters were deep in pre-contest prep, MLE’s athletes — Miki Sudo, her husband Nick Wehry, Eric “Badlands” Booker, and Crazy Legs Conti — weren’t eating hot dogs. They were giving them out.
“It’s really nice to just make it not about ourselves, give back and focus on other people,” said Miki Sudo, the undefeated women’s Nathan’s Champion for 12 years running. “That’s actually really relaxing and calming for me.”
Nathan’s Famous made its ninth annual donation of 100,000 hot dogs to Food Bank For NYC — putting the quintessential Fourth of July food directly into the hands of New Yorkers across all five boroughs who needed it most.
“Food brings people together in so many ways,” Sudo said. “When you are preoccupied with lacking a basic need, it’s just hard to enjoy the company and the presence of your friends and family. So by taking one less worry off of people’s minds, we can really help people come together.”
Volunteering in a heat emergency isn’t easy. But the energy at the distribution was high — powered by a belief this city runs on — you show up for the people who show up for you.
Not everyone who helped planned to spend the afternoon volunteering.
Elaina Johnson, a Peace Officer at Medgar Evers College, stepped outside to check on the neighbors standing in line. Instead, she stayed.
“I see how essential this is to others because food doesn’t come cheap and a lot of people are underserved,” Johnson said. “I was one of them. It’s always great to give back because I know what it feels like.”
Families came out despite the oppressive heat, because they had to. Food Bank For NYC’s volunteers and partners came out because they chose to.
This is what showing up looks like. Not just on competition day. Not just when the cameras are rolling. But in the heat of a July afternoon, one neighbor serving another, ensuring families have a meal going into the holiday weekend.
