Highlighting New York Common Pantry's work with religious partners
NEW YORK - This Season of Giving, CBS2 has partnered with New York Common Pantry as part of our #BetterTogether campaign.
The nonprofit, which works to fight hunger and food insecurity, has served our area since 1980. Since its foundation, the group says it has worked with the support and partnership of multiple faith-based organizations.
In Flatbush, Brooklyn, a van pulls up to a local church every two weeks with a massive delivery.
Workers and volunteers unload 200 packaged bags of pantry-stable items at the doors of Goshen Temple of Seventh Day Adventists. Director of Community Services Jeanine Stoute says the temple's collaboration with the pantry has allowed them to help dozens of families in the hardest of times.
"Inflation is going on and, you know, everything is going up, this serves as a good benefit to those who are in need," she tells CBS2's Hannah Kliger.
The partnership between the temple and the pantry started during the height of the pandemic in 2020, when leaders at this church say they saw a greater need in this community.
"So many people were struggling with food and such, and so we communicated with New York Pantry, and they were such a blessing," Stoute says.
Over at New York Common Pantry, Jorge Negron, Assistant Director of Food Programs, says working with religious organizations like Goshen Temple allows them to have a deeper impact.
"They really have a very integral support system, and we want to make sure that we're supporting them," Negron says.
The day after a big delivery, both members of the congregation and people who live nearby, come to the church to collect the packages.
"New York City is incredibly diverse, so it only makes sense for us to be as diverse with the groups that we work with," Negron says.
Once a month, the pantry also brings bags for local seniors, part of a separate program run by the pantry, called "Nourish."
"Our community has a large, a vast amount of seniors, and so often times, they get overlooked," Stoute says.
Negron says the pantry works with nearly 30 religious organizations to fight hunger, and enjoys support from Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders.
This Saturday, you can help, too. Join us at our food drive with the New York Common Pantry across three locations in Harlem, Queens and the Bronx.
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