In a very special delivery marking a major milestone, Amazon on April 1 delivered its 50 millionth pound of food to City Harvest in a little over a decade and pledged to donate $150,000 to the group.
New York City’s largest food rescue nonprofit in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, marked the moment as observers greeted the truck filled with food donated through Whole Foods Market stores and a nearby Amazon Fresh warehouse.
City Harvest said Amazon has been helping feed New Yorkers by donating to its programs for more than a decade.
Amazon at the delivery also pledged $150,000 to support City Harvest in its mission to rescue and deliver food to those in need across all five boroughs.
“Today, Amazon is our largest local food donor, playing a significant role in our ability to provide food to New Yorkers in need,” City Harvest President Carlos Rodriguez said at City Harvest’s 150,000-square-foot headquarters and warehouse. “We deliver these items directly to our food pantry and soup kitchen partners to distribute to our neighbors across the city who are struggling.”
Amazon New York Head of Community Engagement Angela Pinsky said the company seeks to “support our communities, strengthen our neighborhoods and make meaningful, impactful contributions.”
City Harvest said the 50 million pounds of food donated by Amazon is the equivalent of enough food to help feed 45,630 New York City families for a year.
“They represent millions of meals, millions of moments of relief,” Pinsky said, “and millions in the five boroughs who have had something on the table, because City Harvest has built this tremendous infrastructure.”
CEO Harvest CEO Jilly Stephens, in a written statement, said they were grateful for “Amazon’s continued commitment to City Harvest’s food rescue work.”
Amazon is part of a virtual armada of more than 1,600 businesses that donate food such as restaurants, supermarkets, manufacturers and farms.
City Harvest’s fleet of 23 trucks operate seven days a week, delivering to 400 pantries, soup kitchens and community food programs at a time when food is becoming a bigger issue amid inflation.
Rodriguez said nearly half of New York City households are struggling to make ends meet. City Harvest said there has been an 85% increase in average monthly visits to New York City food pantries and soup kitchens, compared to 2019.
“We know food insecurity continues to be a persistent if not escalating problem,” Council Member Alexa Avilés, representing the 38th District, said. “Particularly as we have the federal government withdrawing its support for Americans across the country, especially food.”
City Harvest picks up donations from around two dozen Whole Foods Markets, as well as Amazon Fresh distribution centers across New York City, daily and sometimes in the mornings and evenings.
“We collect high-quality food and household items that would otherwise go to waste,” Rodriguez said. “Our partners love deliveries from Amazon, because of the variety of food and quality of items.”
Rodriguez said they are serving more people today than before Covid amid an “affordability crisis that is very real and very relatable to many folks.”
Last year, City Harvest’s programs provided daily food to about 19,400 children, 36,400 adults, and 16,700 senior citizens, according to the group.
“The need is going up,” Rodriguez continued. “With high housing costs, rent and shelter, we know that in terms of a family budget, rent eats first.”
City Harvest moved into its current building in January of 2022, after being forced to find a new home, following years in a wide range of places such as Long Island City. Their current space once housed a furniture distributor, wood shop and others.
“It was subdivided and we had a lot of work,” City Harvest Vice President of Supply Chain Michael Fowles said. “We had a tall task of preserving a really old building with a lot of potential.”
He said they can adjust temperatures, increasing cooling to provide the right conditions for various types of food, from pasta to bananas, converting large spaces to freezers.
About 77% of food they rescued and delivered last year was fruits and vegetables, with 16% packaged foods, 3% baked goods, 2% prepared, 2% meat and 1% dairy.
“One day we may be getting a lot of apples. One day a lot of tomatoes. One day, chicken,” Fowles said. “We compartmentalize spaces. We can adjust the temperature based on the type of food.”
Amazon donates food as the expiration date approaches, although it excludes items that are damaged, have open packaging or other food safety issues.
“We have a limited shelf life for products,” said Phil Saraneey, operations manager for an Amazon facility in Red Hook. “When that shelf life is nearing the end, that is selected for waste or donations.”
Big cardboard boxes as the milestone was marked were filled with a wide range of foods, such as salted crackers, baking soda, organic marinara pasta sauce, red raspberry preserves, tomato sauce, black beans and many other items.
“We rescue food from anywhere from a farm to retail stores, wholesalers, distribution centers,” Rodriguez continued, noting that resulted in roughly 30 million pounds from New York City, plus another 60 million pounds from farms, the region and state last year.
City Harvest also operates a beautiful kitchen that they use for cooking demonstrations. “We use this for training, food education, food prep, to get skill sets to help find jobs,” Fowles said. “We can do things here and online.”
The truck that dropped off food amid applause got a warm welcome, as a worker operating a forklift deposited the food ready to be stored or delivered.
“This will make its way to pantries and kitchens and soup kitchens throughout the five boroughs as quickly as by tomorrow,” Rodriguez said.
Avilés said it’s important for nonprofits like City Harvest and companies like Amazon and other food donors to work together.
“This is particularly meaningful,” she said. “I want to extend deep gratitude and thanks to everyone who has contributed to this effort. We need you. Our communities really need this support.”
Stephens in a statement said she hopes the two organizations will continue to work together to “strengthen the city’s food safety net for years to come.”
Although they reached a milestone as the truck arrived, those on hand looked toward the future with more food coming in daily.
“Fifty million pounds is an achievement and a milestone,” Pinsky said. “I look forward to celebrating the next fifty.”
