FOOD FOR THE SOUL
Full bellies and full hearts — Harlem benefactor spends 80th b’day feeding the needy
Orange is the new Black ... Friday.
A food bank kicked off the holiday season in Harlem on Friday by providing free meals on a day when many food pantries and soup kitchens are closed.
Organizers call the event Orange Friday in recognition of orange as the color of hunger awareness. Nearly 50 volunteers served buttermilk biscuits and turkey pot pie to almost 200 people at the Food Bank for New York City Community Kitchen, a charity umbrella group of food pantries and soup kitchens across the five boroughs.
“The day after Thanksgiving is one of the hardest days for a person struggling to find food in this city,” said Camesha Grant, a vice president of the Food Bank. “Many of our soup kitchens and pantries are closed on that day.”
In addition to food, the volunteers also gave away cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo, because those items cannot be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Despite a booming economy, nearly 80% of food pantries and soup kitchens across New York City have seen elevated traffic in the last five years because of cuts to SNAP funding, according to the Food Bank. Over half reported running out of food at various times, and 29% have turned people away.
During the same time, the average price for food has gone up 27% across the city , and 46% in Manhattan, according to a Food Bank report.
The data show Harlem, the location of the Orange Friday event, has the highest rate of food insufficiency in Manhattan.
“I appreciate the services that they provide,” said Isaac Staloings, 37, who comes from the Bronx to the Harlem site. “I come here to eat, and I when I need help, they’re here.”
Most of the volunteers were the friends and family of George Garfunkel, a financial adviser and former family lawyer who chose to celebrate his birthday by supporting the food bank.
More than 20 members of Garfunkel’s family, including his 11 grandchildren, were hard at work. Some prepared food, some cleaned and some helped wrap gifts.
“We’ve been supporting the Food Bank for several years,” said Sandy Garfunkel, George Garfunkel’s wife. “This is hard work, I will tell you. I say it’s better than going to the gym.”
Garfunkel was beaming as he hustled between tasks.
“My wife and I very much believe in what the food bank is doing,” he said. “There are so many hungry New Yorkers, particularly children. We’re very much aware of their work. We’ve been donors for years, We go to their events, and we understand very much what they’re doing. So on the occasion of my 80th birthday, instead of going to some fancy French restaurant, we’ll take the family to a food pantry.”
“It’s one thing to bring a bag of stuff in for needy people,” Garfunkel said.” Here, you get to see it from the ground up.”
Diners wished Garfunkel a happy birthday beneath orange streamers and balloons before digging in.
“This is my getaway,” said Ethelyn Horsford, 76, a retired home health aide from Harlem (photo, left). “When I leave the house, I come here and have a wonderful meal. The people who work here are wonderful staff. They care about us and they love us, and I love them too.”
Grant said the Food Bank serves 1.5 million New Yorkers by distributing 120 meals a minute to 1,000 food pantries and soup kitchens across the city. In 2017, 1 in 5 New Yorkers relied on SNAP benefits.