Gotham Food Pantry Low-Income Public Housing Food Rescue Operations

Commodities

Practices

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.