Food Bank distributes pop-up food to Bronx families

Food Bank has distributed meals to hundreds of families in the Bronx, the borough with the highest rate of food insecurity in New York City

On Monday September 21, 2020, Food Bank For New York City hosted a pop-up food pantry at Yankee Stadium to distribute fresh produce and shelf-stable items to approximately 500 of New York’s families in need.

The distribution also included plant-based protein from Impossible Foods.

Monday’s event was the second time the stadium hosted a mobile food pantry with Food Bank.

Before the pandemic, 17.5% of Bronx residents and 23.5% of children in the Bronx were food insecure.

This has worsened significantly as the Bronx now has a 24.9% unemployment rate, up from 5.8% last year.

According to a source, approximately 25% of food pantries and soup kitchens in the Bronx have closed since the onset of the pandemic.

“This distribution is one in a series of pop-up pantries occurring throughout the weeks ahead as part of Hunger Action Month, with the generous support of Seamless and Starbucks,” the source said.

“This September, Food Bank is partnering with brands, advocates, influencers, and New Yorkers in the fight to end hunger,” he added.

Other pop-up locations this month include Barclays Center, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, New York Hall of Science and Lincoln Center.

With the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic putting many people out of work and rapidly increasing the need for assistance, the demand on the emergency food network has surged.

Food Bank For New York City reports that the vast majority of soup kitchens and food pantries have been serving more New Yorkers during the pandemic than they were previously: many agencies have seen their number of visitors double.

Even before COVID-19, the demand for food was already high: nearly 1.2 million New Yorkers were already food insecure.