FOOD BANK FOR NYC AIMS TO GO ‘BEYOND FOOD'

>>> GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO "METROFOCUS."

I'M RAFAEL PI ROMAN.

WE'RE IN THIS CASING A FOOD CRISIS HERE IN NEW YORK CITY WORK OVER 1 MILLION NEW YORKERS CURRENTLY FACING FOOD INSECURITY.

FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS, FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY HAS BEEN WORKING TO END HUNGER IN THE FIVE BOROUGHS BY PROVIDING HEALTHY MEALS TO NEW YORKERS AND BY ATTEMPTING THE ADDRESS THE STRUCTURAL ISSUES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO FOOD INSECURITY.

JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT THE EFFORTS TO COMBAT FOOD INSECURITY AND WIN THE LARGER WAR AGAINST HUNGER ARE LESLIE GORDON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY, AND LARRY STROMBEL.

THEY'RE WITH US AS PART OF OUR CHASING THE DREAM INITIATIVE ON POVERTY, JUSTICE, AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA.

WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU.

IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HEAR WITH US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING WITH US.

DELIGHTED TO BE IN YOUR COMPANY.

>> THANK YOU.

SO, LISTEN, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE WORK THAT BOTH OF YOU DO AT AND FOR THE FOOD BARK, LET'S TALK ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY ITSELF.

WHAT IS FOOD INSECURITY, AND JUST HOW BAD IS THE PROBLEM IN NEW YORK CITY?

>> SURE.

SO RAFAEL, NEW YORK CITY'S GOT A POPULATION OF ABOUT 8.4 MILLION PEOPLE GIVE OR TAKE, AND 1 IN 6 STRUGGLE TO GET ENOUGH NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO EAT TO LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE, AND TO GO THROUGH REALLY DAILY ACTIVITIES, KIDS TO BE ABLE TO BE AT THEIR PRODUCTIVE BEST TO BE IN SCHOOL, MOMS AND DADS TO HAVE THE ENERGY TO GO TO WORK DURING THE DAY, OLDER AMERICANS TO GO THROUGH THEIR DAYS.

SO AT FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY WE STAND IN THE GAP AND AT THE READY 365 DAYS A YEAR TO MAKE SURE ACCESS TO GOOD NUTRITIOUS FOOD AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT FOOD IS AVAILABLE ON NEARLY EVERY STREET AND IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ACROSS THE FIVE BOROUGHS.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY, IT'S AN UMBRELLA TERM.

IF WE'RE TO UNPACK THAT, QUICKLY IT'S A SET OF DIMENSIONS THAT CAUSE MACHINE TO NOT HAVE ENOUGH NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO EAT.

SO IT'S UNDER EMPLOYMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT, COULD BE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, GENERAL HEALTH ISSUES, HOUSING CHALLENGES.

THERE'S REALLY A CONTINUUM OF TH THINGS.

COULD BE ACCESS AT A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.

30% TO 40% OF OUR HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES ARE FOOD INSECURE, DON'T HAVE ENOUGH GOOD NUTRITIOUS FOOD.

>> WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN NEW YORK CITY?

THOSE ARE THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE BECOME FOOD INSECURE.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THEM IN NEW YORK CITY?

>> YOU KNOW WHAT'S INTERESTING IS IF I THINK ABOUT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS DURING THE PANDEMIC ERA THAT SHONE A BRIGHT LIGHT ON THIS STUBBORN PROBLEM OF FOOD INSECURITY, IT MAKES IT SEEM AS THOUGH IT DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE COVID.

AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IS THAT A REALLY HIGH NUMBER, CLOSE TO 20% OF OUR NEIGHBORS IN THIS GREAT CITY HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING FOR DECADES.

AT THE HEART OF IT, IT'S A SYSTEMS PROBLEM.

IT'S LACK OF ACCESS AND EQUITY TO RESOURCES, SOME POPULATIONS HAVE.

IT'S LAWS.

IT'S UNDEREMPLOYMENT.

MORE RECENTLY WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH HIGH RATES OF INFLATION.

SO FOR EXAMPLE THE COST OF FOOD HAS DWGONE UP PRETTY PRECIPITOUSLY, ALMOST 20% YEAR ON YEAR.

IF YOU'VE GONE OUT AND YOU HAPPEN TO LIKE EGGS, IT'S A GREAT SOURCE OF PROTEIN.

YOU BUY A CARTON OF EGGS THESE DAYS COULD BE AS MUCH AS 8 BUCKS.

RENT HAS GONE UP.

SINCE DECEMBER OF 2022, THE RENT HAS GONE UP JUST ABOUT 15%.

SO THERE'S THIS CONVERGENCE OF VERY STUBBORN ISSUES THAT ARE COMING AT PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING ON LOW INCOMES.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO CON CONTEXTUALIZE WHO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, THESE ARE OUR NEIGHBORS.

IT'S OLDER AMERICANS ON LIMITED INCOMES.

IT'S MOMS AND DADS WHO ARE OUT THERE EVERY DAY, HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS, SOMETIMES TWO AND THREE JOBS.

IT'S COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ARE ON A FABULOUS JOURNEY TO SELF-ACTUALIZE AND LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE WHO DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ACCESS TO FOOD.

IT'S KIDS IN YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM WHO WHEN SCHOOL IS NOT IN SESSION DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE ACCESS TO THREE SOLID MEALS A DAY.

>> LARRY, I PROMISE I'M GOING TO GET TO YOU IN ONE SECOND, BUT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR LESLIE.

YOU TALK ABOUT INFLATION.

ISN'T THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, S.N.A.P., ISN'T THAT INDEXED TO INFLATION?

>> THE S.N.A.P.

HADN'T BEEN ADJUSTED UNTIL THE RECENT PANDEMIC ERA IN DECADES, IN FACT.

AND IN SOME WAYS IT'S TIED TO MINIMUM WAGE AND WHAT WAS CONSIDERED LIVING INCOME FOR A FAMILY, WHICH IS ABOUT $24,000 A YEAR.

IMAGINE LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY ON $24,000 A YEAR.

AND IT'S SUPPLEMENTAL, AS INDICATED IN THE NAME.

SO THE INTENTION THERE IS NOT FOR IT TO FILL EVERY NEED FOR THREE MEALS A DAY.

>> AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE COVID PANDEMIC.

THAT'S WHEN YOU CAME IN.

YOU CAME IN AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC WHEN THINGS WERE REALLY BAD, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WITH YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES.

HOW DOES OUR SITUATION NOW COMPARE TO WHERE IT WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC?

>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE RIGHT, I LANDED HERE IN MARCH OF 202 THE GOOD NEWS IS, FOOD BANK WORSE MADE FOR THIS.

NEW YORKERS CAN COUNT ON US WHEN THEY'RE NEEDED, AND WE ROSE VERY QUICKLY TO INCREMENTALLY INCREASE.

IN 2021 WE DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 140 MILLION MEALS ACROSS -- >> YOU DOUBLED -- IN YOUR TENURE YOU DOUBLED THE AMOUNT OF MEALS I READ.

>> YEAH, WE DID, WE DID.

WHAT IS VERY UNFORTUNATE, AND THIS IS WHERE FOCUS LIKE LARRY AND THE INCREDIBLE CAMPAIGN HE HELPS THE MOBILIZE EVERY YEAR WITH JUSTICE SERVED COMES IN.

THE NEED IS NOT RECEDING.

IT MORE THAN DOUBLED DURING THE PANDEMIC ERA.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ONLINES AND VISITING FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS AND SHELTERS ACROSS YOUR GREAT CITY ARE NOT RECEDES.

IN FACT, THEY REMAIN AT A PANDEMIC ERA HIGH, FRANKLY RELATED TO THE THINGS WE JUST TALKED ABOUT.

SO HIGH RATES OF INFLATION, RISING COST OF FOOD.

IT'S A DIRE SITUATION, NOT TO BE UNDERSTATED.

AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO FOCUS LIKE LARRY AND HIS PEERS AND COLLEAGUES ACROSS OUR CITY IN THE LEGAL SECTOR WHO REALLY MOBILIZE THEMSELVES ONCE A YEAR TO VOLUNTEER TO ADVOCATE AND TO DONATE.

>> IS LET'S TALK TO LIRRY TO TALK ABOUT THAT.

YOU KNOW, LARRY, THE FOOD BANK, AMONG OTHER THINGS, RELIES ON GENEROUS DONATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE YOUR OWN LAW FIRM.

FIRST OF ALL, GIVE US THE NAME OF YOUR LAW FIRM AND TELL US ABOUT ITS SPECIAL CONNECTION TO THE FOOD BANK.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU.

I'M A PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM, A GLOBAL LAW FIRM, THE OLDEST CONOUSLY RUN LAW FIRM IN THE UNITED STATES, FOUNDED OVER 240 YEARS AGO.

WE HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE WORK AND SERVE, AND OUR CONNECTION WITH FOOD BANK GOES BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING.

ONE OF MY PARTNERS, GREAT COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND WHO HAS SINCE PASSED ON, WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING PARTNERS, ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF FOOD BANK AND HELPED TO ORGANIZE IT AS A NONPROFIT 40 YEARS AGO.

AND THAT WAS JUST AN INDICATION OF THE SPIRIT HERE AT OUR FIRM AND MANY, MANY OTHER FIRMS AND LAWYERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO WANT TO BE BETTER CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE LIVE.

>> TALK ABOUT THE INITIATIVE THAT YOU STARTED, JUSTICE SERVED.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IT?

WHAT DOES IT DO?

>> SURE.

SO, THROUGH MY ROLE HERE AT THE FIRM, I GOT TO KNOW FOOD BANK AND AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION AND MADE DONATIONS AND THOUGHT, I JUST LIKE THE SUPPORT, THE WORK THESE GREAT PEOPLE ARE DOING.

BUT THEN I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER ONE TIME AT THE BRONX WAREHOUSE, AND THAT WAS A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME.

YOU KNOW, I'M A LAWYER.

I WORK HERE IN THIS OFFICE.

YOU SEE THE BOOKS.

LAWYERS ARE USED TO BEING IN COURTROOMS, WORKING WITH CLIENTS AND CONFERENCE ROOMS.

AND I WAS GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER AT THE BRONX WAREHOUSE.

I WENT UP THERE WITH A NUMBER OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE AS WELL AS ONE OF THE LAWYERS FROM ONE OF OUR CLIENTS.

AND TOGETHER WE WENT UP THERE AND WALKED INTO THIS 90,000 SQUARE FOOT WAREHOUSE STOCKED FLOOR TO CEILING WITH FOOD TO FIGHT HUNGER IN NEW YORK CITY, AND IT WAS OVERWHELMING, AND WHAT REALLY UNDERSCORED IT FOR ME WAS THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS GIVING US THE TOUR OF THE WAREHOUSE TOLD US WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WAS REALLY JUST ENOUGH TO FEED NEW YORK FOR A FEW DAYS.

AND I THOUGHT, I CAN'T GO BACK TO MY DAY JOB AND KEEP DOING WHAT I WAS DOING WITH THAT KIND OF THING GOING ON AROUND ME IN A CITY I LOVE SO MUCH.

I GREW UP IN AND AROUND NEW YORK AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

>> LARRY, OTHERS WOULD HAVE GONE IN THERE, SEEN THE SAME THINGS YOU DO AND WOULD NOT HAVE REACTED, WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THAT KIND OF EFFECT ON THEM AS IT DID ON YOU.

WHY DID IT HAVE THAT EFFECT ON YOU?

>> I THINK IT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE NEED AND REALIZE THERE ARE GREAT PEOPLE AT FOOD BANK WHO ARE WORKING DAY IN DAY OUT TO SERVE THIS NEED.

AND AS MUCH AS I GREW UP HERE IN NEW YORK, IT'S SOMETHING I WANTED TO DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BUT I'M A LAWYER.

THIS IS MY DAY JOB.

THIS IS WHAT I DO.

SO I THOUGHT LONG AND HARD, HOW COULD I MAKE A DIFFERENCE DOING WHAT I DO, AND I SAID, I KNOW LAWYERS.

I HAVE LOTS OF CLIENTS AND KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY I DO IF I GAVE THEM A CHANCE.

THAT'S WHAT WE DO.

NEW YORK IS A GREAT CITY.

THERE ARE LOTS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK.

THAT'S ONE OF THE THING WE LOVE ABOUT NEW YORK.

THERE ARE MANY LAWYERS HERE IN NEW YORK.

AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO FEEL THE SAME AS I DO, FOOD IS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF LIFE, AND A LOT OF US CAN RELATE TO FOOD INSECURITY AS A VISCERAL LEVEL.

AND I HAVE JUST FOUND THAT WHEN YOU GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT FOOD BANK DOES, TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE ON THE FRONT LINE, AND PROVIDE SOMETHING THAT HAS SUCH A MEANINGFUL IMPACT TO THEM, IT JUST -- IT'S A KIND OF EXPERIENCE THAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD AND MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT GIVING AND YOU GET MORE OUT OF IT THAN YOU GIVE.

>> LESLIE, WE HAVE LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

THE FOOD BANK PROVIDES THINGS OTHER THAN FOOD, RIGHT?

IT HELPS NEW YORKERS NAVIGATE OR COMPLEX TAX SYSTEM.

WHEN DID IT GET INVOLVED IN THAT?

>> WE HAVE HAD A LONG LEGACY AND PROUD COMMITMENT TO MAKING SURE THAT NOT ONLY DID PEOPLE HAVE GOOD NUTRITIOUS FOOD FOR TODAY, BUT ALSO TO HELP LIFT THEM MORE PERMANENTLY OUT OF A POSITION OF HAVING TO REGULARLY VISIT A FOOD PANTRY OR SOUP KITCHEN.

AND SO INCREDIBLY, US A JUST SHARED, WE'RE ONE OF THE NATION'S LARGEST TAX PREPARATION ORGANIZATIONS.

TAX SEASON IS IN FULL SWING FOR FOOD BANK AT NEW YORK CITY AND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

WE HELP LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS PREPARE THEIR TAXES.

YOU MIGHT ASK YOURSELF, A FOOD BANK AND TAXES?

HOW DOES THAT GO TOGETHER?

AND HOW IT WORKS IS ONE OF THE BEST POVERTY FIGHTING MEASURES IN THE UNITED STATES IS SOMETHING CALLED EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.

AND SO WE HELP PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT WONDERFUL PROGRAM, WHICH ALSO REWARDS PEOPLE FOR WORKING AND FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.

AND THE AVERAGE RETURN IS SOMETHING ABOUT $1,800 CASH, WHICH IS TRANSFORMATIONAL.

>> QUICKLY, HAVE 30 SECONDS LEFT.

PEOPLE WATCHING US ARE INTERESTED, LESLIE, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

30 SECONDS.

>> FIND YOURSELF IN OUR MISSION AT FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY.

YOU CAN DONATE, ADVOCATE, VOLUNTEER.

VISIT US AT FOODBANKNYC.ORG AND OF COURSE LAW FIRMS AND LAWYERS CAN BECOME PART OF JUSTICE SERVED.

WE'LL HAVE TO END IT THERE.

THANKS, YOU GUYS FOR THE WORK YOU DO AND FOR JOINING US TODAY.

>> OUR PLEASURE.