{"id":9261,"date":"2010-01-05T10:27:36","date_gmt":"2010-01-05T14:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=9261"},"modified":"2025-08-21T09:33:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:33:57","slug":"adopt-a-food-program-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/9261\/adopt-a-food-program-volunteering\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Good Series Part I: A Chef-Volunteer Reports on Battling Hunger in Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Wexler, a chef at Good Commons in Vermont, hits the streets of New York City and beyond to discover the places and people that make him feel Good. This is the first in a four-part “Do Good” series about interesting volunteer opportunities throughout the outer boroughs.<\/em><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> Adopt a Food Program<\/p>\n

Where: <\/strong>Soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the five boroughs<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> 6-month commitment during 2010<\/p>\n

Why:<\/strong> To help the approximately 1.3 million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food. To the average passer-by, there is nothing unique about the door at 2241 Church Avenue in Flatbush\u2014except for the 50 people lined up outside of it on this cold December morning. They represent an alarming number of city residents having difficulty affording food. The 2nd floor food pantry, operated by CAMBA<\/a>, sees upwards of 2,400 visitors a month. I have arrived to bag a few groceries and find out more about CAMBA\u2019s participation in the newly launched Adopt a Food Program<\/strong>.<\/p>\n


\nPart of Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s New York Service initiative, CAMBA is one of a hundred or so food pantries citywide participating in the Adopt a Food Program, which is being coordinated in cooperation with the Food Bank For New York City. \u201cIt\u2019s great that we have so much response during the holiday season,\u201d shares CAMBA\u2019s Director of Homelessness Prevention Programs\/Legal Services Janet Miller, \u201cbut it\u2019s really the rest of the year that has such a strong demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m quickly thrown into the hustle of the morning\u2019s activities by Anne Christian, project coordinator for the food pantry. She is refreshingly optimistic, given the marked increase in people accessing emergency food and the visibly limited resources. Her small but dedicated team includes Young Adult Borough Center (YABC) interns, a social service graduate student, and a handful of volunteers. Together they are a true melting pot, exemplifying an area that was once home to Barbra Streisand and the Brooklyn Dodgers and is now primarily African and East Indian.<\/p>\n

The YABC interns stock the shelves with grits, dry cereal, shelf-stable milk, and a limited assortment of canned vegetables. The refrigerators sit mostly empty except for a few dozen eggs and some carrots and collard greens that have seen better days. Clients can only access the pantry once a month and these items, regardless of their condition, are priceless. CAMBA\u2019s pantry operates as a client-choice model, allowing participants to choose products from the shelf as if they were in a grocery store. Not only is it more dignified, but it is also more effective. Clients receive foods that they actually want to eat, cutting down on waste. And with such a high demand, every can counts.<\/p>\n

I am assigned as a bagger and quickly discover that working the line isn\u2019t as easy as it may appear. Cans roll of the counter. A bag splits with the weight of too many items. I inadvertently crush a box of cereal. It\u2019s humbling. . . because I know these minor missteps are with goods worth their weight in gold to the people standing before me. And yet nobody grumbles or complains. They do not ask for the manager or throw a tantrum as I have been known to do at my worst retail moments. Their appreciation transcends my fumblings and I receive \u201cthank you’s\u201d in an array of global accents.<\/p>\n

As the day wraps up, I ask Anne why people should consider the Adopt a Food Program. \u201cWhen you\u2019re helping to provide people with nutritious food, it makes them happy. They realize that somebody cares, and that\u2019s a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn how you can be part of the Adopt a Food Program, visit nyc.gov or the Food Bank For New York City.<\/p>\n

(CAMBA, 1720 Church Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 718.287.2600)<\/em><\/p>\n

Matthew Wexler is a freelance writer and chef. His online musings can be found at his blog, Roo de Loo. To sample his cuisine, take a visit to Good Commons.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Wexler, a chef at Good Commons in Vermont, hits the streets of New York City and beyond to discover the places and people that make him feel Good. This is the first in a four-part “Do Good” series about interesting volunteer opportunities throughout the outer boroughs. What: Adopt a Food Program Where: Soup kitchens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":14881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[320,4,271,752],"tags":[359,125,386],"class_list":{"0":"post-9261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-outer-boroughs-destination","8":"category-events","9":"category-news","10":"category-subway-2","11":"tag-charity","12":"tag-food","13":"tag-volunteer"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":14881,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/fruit-300x225.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}