NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), in partnership with Food Bank For New York City, announced the launch of ACS’ first-ever client-centered emergency food pantry for families in the Bronx who are involved with ACS. The full-scale food pantry is located in the ACS Division of Child Protection Bronx South Borough Office, where there is a high concentration of families struggling with food insecurity.
The food pantry will provide packaged, non-perishable food items, as well as refrigerated and frozen food items that families will be able to select and take home. On-site cooking lessons and other educational information will also be available at the new food pantry for families.
“This partnership between ACS and Food Bank For New York City is creating a new type of pantry to serve some of our City’s most vulnerable residents,” said Lisa Hines-Johnson, Chief Operating Officer for Food Bank For New York City. “The Bronx has the second highest meal gap in NYC, and many of the local families served by ACS struggle to afford everyday necessities, including food. By opening a pantry within ACS, we are able to better meet need where it is, provide children with nutritious food, and help keep families together.”
The pilot food pantry opened at the end of June on a limited scale to a limited number of families. ACS and Food Bank worked closely together to assess usage of the pantry and to determine what items families needed most. After months of Food Bank training ACS on how to order food for the pantry, and other operations best practices, the pantry is now operating on a much larger scale.
To date, 32,287 pounds of food, which equals 26,906 meals, have been distributed and 950 families and 2,400 children have been served. Food Bank For New York City is grateful to have a partner in ACS for supporting New Yorkers in need.