Food Bank For New York City and Instacart to Bring Bags of Fresh Produce to over 100 Families in Need
Bronx, NY – December 15, 2022 – Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie (District 83) is hosting his annual holiday toy giveaway and partnering with Food Bank For New York City and Instacart to additionally bring 100 bags of fresh produce to New York families in need this holiday season. The giveaway event is additionally a holiday celebration and will include pictures with Santa, holiday music, hot cocoa, and toys for all ages.
The event will take place at the Bridgefield Civic League center on 3551 Laconia Avenue on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, from 4 pm to 7 pm. Last year, the event brought in about 500 children to pick from a selection of donated toys and learn more about healthy eating habits.
“The holiday season is a time of giving and cheer,” said Assemblyman Carl Heastie. “For this year’s Community Toy Giveaway, we focused on the entire family, distributing not only toys but also food to ensure families were able to have a home-cooked meal. Following a global pandemic, many have faced social and economic hardships, making this event even more important for many here in the 83rd. Thank you to the Food Bank of NYC and Instacart for your hand in making this event happen. Let’s remember something as small as a smile can brighten someone’s day.”
With inflation rising, holiday gifts and food are costing New Yorkers more this holiday season. Sixty percent of respondents in a recent Harris Poll said they plan to buy fewer gifts this year, and more than one-third decided not to give gifts this year due to high costs. At the same time, according to Food Bank for NYC, nearly 1.6 million New Yorkers currently experience food insecurity, including one in seven children.
“The holidays are always a magical time in New York, but it is important for us to remember there is still incredible need all around us,” said Janis Robinson, Vice President of Corporate and Institutional Partnerships at Food Bank For New York City. “This is especially true in this current economic climate with rising inflation, rent, and food costs. Food Bank For New York City is proud to partner with Instacart to support our neighbors with fresh produce and nutritious food during this season of giving, and grateful for Speaker Heastie’s ongoing leadership to fight hunger for all New Yorkers in need.”
“Every New York family should have access to the nutritious food they need,” said Instacart’s Government Affairs Manager, Tom McNeil. “At Instacart, we are proud to support the Bronx community alongside Speaker Heastie and leverage our new Community Carts partnership with Food Bank For New York City to help increase access to affordable, nutritious food for more New Yorkers.”
Instacart and Food Bank For New York City recently partnered to launch a Community Cart, a new technology that reimagines traditional food drives, making it easy for consumers to donate groceries food banks need most this holiday season. With Community Carts, anyone can donate the exact items Food Bank For New York City needs this year, with delivery and service fees waived on every donation order. All food donations will be delivered directly to the food bank by an Instacart Shopper.
To donate to Food Bank For New York City through its Community Cart, click here. To learn more about how you can support the toy giveaway, click here.
About Food Bank For New York City
Food Bank For New York City is the largest hunger relief organization of the city fighting food insecurity on the ground since 1983. By partnering with over 800 soup kitchens, food pantries, and campus partners across the five boroughs, Food Bank is able to make a direct impact in the communities that need it most, providing some 1.4 billion meals to New Yorkers since its founding. But food alone can’t solve hunger. That’s why Food Bank employs a two-prong approach of Community Nourishment programming (to provide immediate and reliable access to food today) with Economic Empowerment programming (to equip people with the tools they need to achieve food security into tomorrow and beyond). All of these services – from grab-and-go pantry bags to hot meals, tax filing assistance, SNAP enrollment, nutrition education, and financial empowerment workshops – are free and available to anyone who needs them. To learn more about Food Bank’s mission to dignify, nourish, and empower ALL New Yorkers facing food insecurity, visit foodbanknyc.org.
About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,000 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 75,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for hundreds of thousands of Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.