Meals for Good exists because there continues to be a dire need for access to healthy food in New York City. 16% of people living in New York City (that’s 1.4 million people) were food insecure before COVID, and now it’s close to 2 million and one in every four is a child.
We operate with a dual mission: to support underfunded food pantries with grants for fresh produce, mostly from local and regional family farms (thereby supporting our farms as well), and to provide families with access, through donation and direct purchase, to missing groceries that are so vital to their wellbeing. See information about our vouchers, which give people agency to choose their own food at local independent supermarkets.
What makes us different? 1) We are small enough to tailor our investments to the needs of the communities we serve. We know that not every family requires pre-cooked meals or eats what city agencies can provide at food pantries, 2) Almost every penny goes to food. We do not pay salaries, and administrative costs are mostly donated.
What is Food Insecurity? Food insecurity is when you don’t have enough money to buy the healthy foods you need, or if you have to skip meals because you don’t have enough money to buy more food.
We operate with a dual mission: to support underfunded food pantries with grants for fresh produce, mostly from local and regional family farms (thereby supporting our farms as well), and to provide families with access, through donation and direct purchase, to missing groceries that are so vital to their wellbeing. See information about our vouchers, which give people agency to choose their own food at local independent supermarkets.
What makes us different? 1) We are small enough to tailor our investments to the needs of the communities we serve. We know that not every family requires pre-cooked meals or eats what city agencies can provide at food pantries, 2) Almost every penny goes to food. We do not pay salaries, and administrative costs are mostly donated.
What is Food Insecurity? Food insecurity is when you don’t have enough money to buy the healthy foods you need, or if you have to skip meals because you don’t have enough money to buy more food.
In fact, if you counted the number of healthy meals missing from food insecure households last year in NYC alone, they would add up to a whopping 242 million.
Worrying about how to feed your family (or yourself) does not exist in isolation. People who are food-insecure struggle with poverty and often have to decide whether to pay their rent or their electricity, pay for medication, get a MetroCard—or pay for healthy food.
There is no single face of food insecurity. It affects people of all ages, and many fall in and out of being food insecure, depending upon their situation.
Worrying about how to feed your family (or yourself) does not exist in isolation. People who are food-insecure struggle with poverty and often have to decide whether to pay their rent or their electricity, pay for medication, get a MetroCard—or pay for healthy food.
There is no single face of food insecurity. It affects people of all ages, and many fall in and out of being food insecure, depending upon their situation.
"Good morning, Cathy. I really need your help this week. I don't have any fruit or produce for Saturday" asked by pantry
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"Before receiving the food vouchers, I would sacrifice eating or would eat less so that my kids could eat"
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"I haven't picked up recyclables for food since the program started."
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