Gotham Food Pantry Low-Income Public Housing Food Rescue Operations

Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: Food waste and rescue curriculum
• Sustainable Communities: food access and security, food loss and waste recovery/reduction, food sovereignty, quality of life

Gotham Food Pantry works to combat food insecurity in Environmental Justice areas by rescuing healthy foods from retailers that would otherwise discard its excess and delivering the rescued food o New York City low-income housing Complexes, shelters, and community fridges in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Each location is within a designated Environmental Justice Area. By partnering with over thirty NYCHA resident councils, several dozen mutual aid organizations, NGOs, and houses of worship, Gotham serves 75,000 people annually with reliable, healthy meals, produce, and shelf-stable items. A grant from SARE will enable Gotham to expand its services into new housing complexes and develop collaborations with businesses in these areas, increasing food sources by 25% each quarter.

Food sourcing is central to our mission. Staff and volunteers continuously engage food vendors, educating them about the ease of donating their unsold products. One significant challenge is overcoming the misconception that owners or managers can be sued if donated food causes illness. Gotham staff explain the federal that exempt businesses from liability. Securing donation agreements with food vendors will help reduce the 6 to 8% of greenhouse gases that uneaten food would produce if discarded in landfills. Removing leftovers from the waste stream also benefits the health and well-being of our clients.

Gotham has earned a reputation in New York City as one of the few grassroots organizations capable of handling large food rescue operations quickly. As soon as resources become available, trucks, drivers, and volunteers are notified and mobilized to pick up and deliver food directly to housing complexes, community fridges, and neighborhoods.

Our pantries are coordinated, set up, and run by public-housing residents, ensuring their acceptance and ongoing success. Tenant leaders announce each event and ensure that all residents, including home-bound neighbors and those unable to attend during open hours, receive their share. Food is sourced locally, ensuring it remains fresh and doesn't travel far.

Gotham's ability to provide a sustainable, reliable source of meals and groceries helps mitigate the harms associated with food insecurity, which affects one in three NYCHA residents (NYCHA, 2023). Access to fresh foods supplied through our pantries can  easily prevent health issues that develop from cheap foods and malnutrition. Food security is an often-overlooked basic need that reduces poverty and enhances success in education and career development, thereby fostering a strong, healthy, and inclusive economy.

1. Continue to connect with tenant association in NYCHA
   complexes and assign leaders for each program.
2. Identify and collaborate with ten food establishments to
   schedule regular food pickups.
3. Ensure safe food handling practices totaling 2,500 pounds per
   week in the first 60 days.
4. Increase food sourcing by 25% each quarter.
5. Develop and implement educational programs in schools and
   community centers to raise awareness about food waste, nutrition,
   and sustainable practices. This includes classes on healthy
   cooking on a budget, community gardening, disease prevention
   through nutrition and food label literacy.
6. Build upon our in-progress end-to-end platform solution that
   supports food recovery for all stakeholders; this technology is
   already optimizing the experience from the moment the food is
   rescued to the moment it is delivered to its recipient site.
7. The aforementioned platform also streamlines the tracking of
   vital metrics, such as rescued food weight and CO2 emissions
   reduction.