Our food pantry is still open. It is a holistic response to the vulnerability and food insecurity of many of our neighbors and community members. Please Contact us for additional information. Nuestro comedor comunitario es parte de una respuesta holística a la precariedad de muchos de nuestros vecin@s. Estamos distribuyendo vegetales, granos, fruta y alimentos diferentes días durante la semana.
According to Feeding America, a U.S. hunger relief organization comprising more than 200 food banks, New York State ranks among the five states with highest projected rates of food insecurity for 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among all counties in the United States, Brooklyn (Kings County) ranks fifth highest in projected food insecurity for 2021 with nearly 500,000 people living in food-insecure households. Even more concerning, that figure includes nearly 50,000 children living in households with very low food security.
As sobering as those figures are, they hide the true suffering experienced by the families in our community who been hit hardest by the pandemic. Our immigrant communities, especially the undocumented, have been the most severely affected. Even prior to the pandemic, they had little to no access to government resources, with the undocumented living in the shadows, ever fearful of deportation.
Since the pandemic, their situation has become desperate.
Our response has been to establish an ongoing food pantry. For many in our community, it has become a lifeline. Here are two facts that show both the enormity of the need and our commitment to meeting that need:
We regularly feed 400 households every week.
We take in and distribute more than 10,000 pounds of food every week.
And still, it is not enough.
As we continue to respond faithfully, we do by allocating our resources in building a platform of care, advocacy and prophetic witness. Please view the photos of our efforts below. Also, click on the button to read the "A Higher Calling" article from The New Yorker magazine that describes in detail, the church's efforts and Pastor Ruiz's leadership. Then please consider donating to our mission. Be as generous as you possibly can. Every dollar helps us address the systematic causes of hunger and inequality in our community.