Rise Up for the Shutdown at Barclays Center

[mpc_textblock preset=”preset_4″ content_width=”100″ font_preset=”preset_16″]In response to the surmounting need caused by the ongoing government shutdown, Food Bank For New York City hosted a pop-up resource distribution event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, January 22^nd, supported by Barclays and Stop & Shop. Over 600 people were served throughout the three-hour event, signing-in to pick up dry goods and frozen proteins, fresh milk, onions, potatoes, grapes, and personal care items. Food Bank staff were also available to tell federal employees about their options for SNAP, tax return filing assistance, and other available resources.

Many of the federal employees who came to pick up food were squeezing in the visit during their lunch break, or coming straight from work. One woman shared that she was still working 16 hour shifts without pay. Other federal employees encountered co-workers whom they had not seen in almost a month.

Food Bank staff were grateful to serve this group of newly vulnerable New Yorkers alongside staff from Shop & Stop, the Barclays Center, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries’s office, the local NYPD precinct, and a few Brooklyn residents who heard about the distribution and showed up to help.

Food Bank For New York City plans to host more distributions in the coming weeks if the shutdown continues. Find the latest details here.[/mpc_textblock][vc_empty_space]