City Harvest (United States)

City Harvest is one of New York City's largest food rescue organizations. The organization collects food waste from restaurants, bakeries, and cafes.^[1]

City Harvest

Formation	1982; 43 years ago (1982)
Founder	Helen verDuin Palit, Harley Brooke-Hitching, Peter Schmidt
Type	Non-profit organization
Focus	Food rescue, Food waste reduction
Location	New York City
Employees	160
Volunteers	20,000
Website	Official website

History

City Harvest is a nonprofit organization that was established in 1982. Its primary objective is to address hunger and food waste in New York City by collecting surplus food from various sources.^{[citation needed]}

Its founders included Helen verDuin Palit, Harley Brooke-Hitching, and Peter Schmidt.^[2][3] The operation relies on the services of roughly 160 employees and 20,000 volunteers annually.^[4] Fresh fruits and vegetables form more than half of the rescued food.^[5]

In 2005, City Harvest began holding two free farmers' market-style distributions in low-income communities each month.^[6] The operation now includes nine Mobile Markets – two per borough – each month, distributing approximately three million pounds of fresh produce a year. In 2013, these markets delivered around one million pounds of produce to 50,000 residents.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2011, City Harvest opened its 45,400 square foot Food Rescue Facility in Long Island City, Queens.^[7] The facility includes a large cooler and freezer to hold perishable food on a short-term basis and a large dry storage area to sort non-perishable goods.^[8]

City Harvest hosts annual events such as the City Harvest Gala,^[9] Summer in the City,^[10] and BID.^[11]

Leadership

City Harvest’s Food Council has more than 70 members. The current chair of the Food Council is Geoffrey Zakarian. Founding Food Council members include:

• Éric Ripert
• Dana Cowin^[12]
• Michael Lomonaco^[13]
• Danny Meyer^[14]
• Drew Nieporent^[15]

Programs

Since 2006, the Healthy Neighborhoods initiative has expanded access to produce and has offered nutrition education to residents. These programs target high-need communities throughout the five boroughs.^[16]

Emergency food programs

City Harvest delivers over 10 million pounds of food (60% of which produces) each year to emergency food programs located within designated Healthy Neighborhoods.^[6] Soup kitchens and food pantries are then able to offer participants a variety of food. Through the Agency Capacity Expansion (ACE) program, City Harvest offers grants for one-time projects to selected emergency food programs to upgrade facilities and services. In addition, City Harvest University's courses teach agencies core skill sets.^[17]

Educational outreach

Developed by Share Our Strength, Cooking Matters workshops educate all age groups on how to develop and maintain a healthy diet. City Harvest teaches customers how to find affordable, healthy foods in their communities.^[18]

City Harvest also uses a nutrition education curriculum to work with low-income seniors.^[19]

Advocacy

City Harvest advocates at the city, state, and federal levels for programs, policies, and actions to change the conditions that result in food insecurity and hunger.^[20] City Harvest also provides low-income New Yorkers with access to federal nutrition programs and regional food supplies.^[21]

Awards and recognition

In 1989, City Harvest founder Helen verDuin Palit received a presidential citation for a private sector initiative from President George H. W. Bush as part of his 1,000 Points of Light program.^[22]

In 2003, Executive Director Julia Erickson was named the James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year, in recognition of City Harvest's work supporting recovery workers at Ground Zero, following 9/11. ^[23]

In 2008, Charity Navigator awarded City Harvest with 4 stars in their charity ranking system.^[24] The Robin Hood Foundation awarded a $400,000 grant to City Harvest in 2009 based on the efficiency of City Harvest’s unique food rescue model.^[25]

The following year Executive Director Jilly Stephens was honored at the Annual Spirit of ABNY (Association for a Better New York) awards as a select New Yorker who has provided a distinguished level of service to New York City.^[26]

In The New York Times Company’s annual Nonprofit Excellence Awards, City Harvest was awarded the Silver Prize for Excellent Management in 2011.^[27]

See also

• Food portal

• List of food banks