February 11, 2015 – Food Bank For New York City held NYC’s Conference on Hunger and Poverty, which brought together leaders from the anti-hunger community, media and policymakers, New York City government, supporters and funders to look back at the last year of progress and move forward to close the Meal Gap. Over 500 attendees representing our network of member organizations packed workshops informing and inspiring them to offer new services, improve efficiency, recruit volunteers, and more effectively tell their stories. Senior Pastor Michael A. Walrond, Jr., of the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, delivered a stirring keynote address on the vision needed to make change.
Steven Banks, Commissioner of New York City’s Human Resources Administration, thanked Food Bank member agencies for their hard work on the front lines of the fight against hunger and looked forward to furthering the City’s social services not only in hunger relief, but also in housing and jobs programs.
Erica Hill, co-anchor of NBC’s Weekend TODAY Show, moderated a discussion with former White House Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Sam Kass, who led First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, on bringing together nutrition education and hunger advocacy policy, both nationally and locally.
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Julie Menin joined Food Bank President and CEO Margarette Purvis for a press conference releasing new Food Bank research on the benefits of financial empowerment education in the fight against hunger and poverty. The white paper, titled “The Meal Gap Under the Microscope,” highlights a new Food Bank initiative in partnership with Citi Community Development to bring financial services to schools and the improvements to food security that families experience when they are better able to manage household finances.
Food Bank President & CEO Margarette Purvis and NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Julie Menin
Ms. Purvis announced that Food Bank met and exceeded its yearly goals, distributing over 76 million meals, successfully lobbying the New York City government to adopt the Meal Gap as its measure of food insecurity, and increasing integration with public schools, SNAP referrals, and free tax preparation services. At the closing reception, awards were presented to outstanding member agencies in key high-meal-gap areas around the city.
Food Bank President & CEO Margarette Purvis and representatives of member agencies recognized for excellence
Photos: Erik Fuller