Adding Pantries and Spice to New York’s Hungry Neighborhoods

Over the past year, New York City’s three biggest providers of emergency food have reorganized in an effort to feed underserved communities and get ethnic ingredients to specific neighborhoods.

The changes came about after the three nonprofits, United Way of New York City, City Harvest and Food Bank For New York City, joined forces three years ago to get a clearer picture of how well the system was working.

What they learned about the system — which includes 952 churches, religious organizations and small nonprofits that distribute tons of shelf staples, canned goods and produce to help feed more than 1 million people each year — was troubling, representatives of the agencies said.

Some communities, like mid-island on Staten Island and deep into Flushing, Queens, had few or no pantries. Many other pantries, lacking refrigeration and space, were limited to nonperishable foods, leaving some neighborhoods without fruits and vegetables. In ethnic enclaves, pantries did not offer the food people used for traditional dishes.

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