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Dear
Friend,
As we recognize Women’s History Month, we celebrate challenges overcome while acknowledging those yet to be won. For me, it means recognizing that hunger is a women's issue. It starts with income inequality along gender lines, but it goes beyond that. Women living in poverty often find themselves forced to choose between food and other basic necessities, while also disproportionately shouldering the responsibilities – and expenses – of care for children and elders. The intersection of all these factors can make hunger and poverty feel like quicksand.
The causes of hunger are complex and daunting, but the solutions don't need to be. Simply getting involved and stepping in where help is needed can change lives – and I am proud to see women taking the lead in support of our mission. Partners like the New York City Council, Department of Education, Bank of America, the city's legal community, and New Yorkers of all stripes have shown the focus and determination to get involved and do good where and how they can. Leadership comes in many forms, and there is room at Food Bank for yours. We look forward to helping you take your place at our table.
Sincerely,
Margarette Purvis
President & CEO
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Going Beyond Food
With the generous support of the New York City Council and in collaboration with the Department of Education, Food Bank has opened 16 new Campus Pantries in high-poverty schools around the city. In addition to food, these pantries offer many of the basic necessities families need but struggle to afford, including feminine and personal care products.
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Department of Education representatives hailed this innovative pantry model at a recent event at East Bronx Academy for the Future High School. We heard from children and parents about how needed the campus pantry is, and about its transformative impact on their school community. Read more and check out video from the event here!
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Women Leading Solutions
The distance between women of means and women in need can be quite small. Hunger and poverty disproportionately affect women, who comprise 57% of users of emergency food.
Earlier this week, we were proud to host a breakfast and panel discussion, presented in partnership with Bank of America, highlighting real-world examples of women leading in the fight against hunger: from using a corporate bully pulpit to combining business and social enterprise and tapping social networks, our panelists offered inspiration and motivation. A very special thank you to Lauren Bush Lauren, CEO of FEED, Kerry Sullivan, President of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Gail Monroe Perry of the Greater NY Chapter of the Links, and Food Bank Junior Board member Emily Chong, Vice President, Strategy & Partnerships at NationSwell. Hunger is solvable, and we appreciate getting to share the solutions found in every New Yorker.
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Anti-Hunger Funding at Risk
Stepping up often means raising your voice. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Preliminary Budget for the coming year includes a proposal to cut the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) by $4.9 million. If adopted into law, this cut will reduce the resources of food pantries and soup kitchens already struggling to meet the need. Please send a message to the Mayor and City Council today!
In Washington, the White House budget released earlier this month threatens to deepen and intensify the struggles of low-income Americans. We will be monitoring developments closely as the budget process progresses. Read our statement here.
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Justice Served
New York City’s legal community is doing its part to close the meal gap with the 2nd annual Justice Served campaign. Over 250 volunteers pitched in at our warehouse, and enough funds were raised to distribute more than 450,000 meals to New Yorkers in need.
We are grateful for the leadership of Food Bank Board member Lary Stromfeld and Junior Board Chair Annie Mohan, who spearheaded the campaign, and thank participating firms Alston & Bird, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, Goldman Sachs, Jones Day, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Morgan Stanley, New York Law Journal, O’Melveny, Ropes & Gray, Sidley Austin, Skadden, Wells Fargo, and White & Case for using both resources and influence to make a difference.
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