POSTED: Monday November 24th 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Giants To Raise Awareness and Funds to Aid Food Bank for New York City
By Michael Eisen
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants’ offensive and defensive linemen are using their muscle to combat a critical food shortage at the Food Bank for New York City.
The Bank is experiencing the dire effects of the economic downturn as corporations pull back on funds and resources, foundations cut long-term support for important programs that aid the poor and the number of individual donors plummets. At the same time, the number of hungry people in the metropolitan area who depend on the Food Bank has sharply risen.
The Giants, long-time supporters of the Food Bank, are donating $5,000, while many individual players are making financial contributions and the linemen are going to work for a day in an effort to inspire more people to get involved.
“The New York Giants are fully aware of how badly the food banks are suffering in this time of economic hardship,” said Allison Stangeby, the team’s director of community relations. “Many of the people who used to donate to food banks are now those in need of donations. As always, the team is here to help with our time, talent and treasures. With that in mind, our players are also well aware of how critical the situation is and are lending their support in numerous ways to call attention to the plight of the food banks.”
“The Giants are always there when we need them and it means so much to us, because they bring so much visibility, given who they are and what they do,” said Carol Schneider, the Food Bank’s media relations manager. “Because of that visibility, people start to look and say, ‘Oh, the Giants are doing this, they’re supporting this organization, let’s take a look.’ It’s money in the bank for us, because people do respond to people they see in the public light. And to have the support has just been amazing. Every single year, the Giants are there for us. And this year in particular, it is so important.”
Tomorrow at 10 a.m., guard Chris Snee and tackle David Diehl will be at the Food Bank’s warehouse in Hunts Point, the Bronx, to load one of the Bank’s 54-foot long tractor trailers with 350 turkeys and all the fixings for delivery to the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen of West Harlem, which is located at 252 West 116th Street in Manhattan. When the tractor trailer arrives at the Community Kitchen, it will be met by several of the Giants’ defensive linemen - including Fred Robbins, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Barry Cofield, Jay Alford, Renaldo Wynn and Jerome McDougle - who will unload the food and then join the serving line inside and help serve the dinner meal to 700 New Yorkers in need. The Food Bank’s Community Kitchen of West Harlem served more than 92,000 meals in fiscal year 2008.
“This will be my first trip and I’m excited about it,” Snee said. “The whole economy is going through a tough time right now and as players, we are in a position where we can help. This is a perfect time to do it. Times are tough. We’re in such a fortunate position that we can help with the food drive.”
“We are blessed to be in the position we’re in, man, and you just have to be able to give back,” Robbins said. “We spend time with the people cheering us on and it’s an opportunity for us to show our appreciation and let people know they we can give back. That’s what it’s all about, just giving back, and showing appreciation for the people giving us praise every Sunday. We can take the time out to let them know that we don’t forget about anybody. We know they aren’t as fortunate as we are.”
Even prior to the present economic crisis, the Food Bank was reporting that New York City residents were struggling to put food on the table. Approximately 1.3 million New York residents already rely on soup kitchens and food pantries for survival. In June, the Food Bank reported that 3.1 million New Yorkers were having difficulty affording needed food — a 55 percent increase from the two million in 2003. In the same time period, the cost of food in the metropolitan area rose 15 percent. While the demand for emergency food increases, the amount of food that is now available to the Food Bank’s emergency food assistance programs has drastically decreased. Food donations were down 40 percent at the end of the fiscal year and in 2008, donated food has declined 24 percent.
According to the Food Bank, 38 percent of the NYC residents experiencing difficulty affording needed food had to forego purchasing food for themselves and their families at some point during the past year. In addition, 1.6 million city residents would be unable to afford needed food immediately after the loss of their household income. Those 1.6 million New Yorkers are living paycheck to paycheck at a time when the city is experiencing huge job losses as a result of the current financial crisis. Despite the enormous need, soup kitchens and food pantries are turning clients away.
Children have been the hardest hit. According to Food Bank figures, as of 2007, one in five children (397,000) rely on soup kitchens and food pantries, up 48 percent from 269,000 in 2004. Children account for 43 percent of the overall increase in city residents, from one million to 1.3 million, relying on emergency food during this time period. Food poverty among New York City children has been escalating at an alarming level for the past few years, and the current financial crisis will deepen/spread the crisis even further unless measures are implemented to address the problem. More than one out of every four New York City children lives below the poverty level and those youngsters are particularly vulnerable to food poverty, and several indicators show food poverty among children in New York City is on the rise.
The Giants can’t reverse all of these alarming trends. But they can do their part and inspire others to pitch in during this time of crisis.
“We are very grateful to the New York Giants for their continuing support and for helping to bring much needed visibility to the pervasive issue of hunger in New York City, especially in these troubled times,” said Dr. Lucy Cabrera, President and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City. “The Food Bank is deeply concerned about the impact that the financial crisis and skyrocketing food and fuel costs will have on all New Yorkers. The holiday season is an especially challenging time for out network of programs. While the consequences of these economic factors are not yet fully known, we feel certain about two things — the number of New Yorkers in need of assistance will surely rise, and thanks to partners like the New York Giants, the Food Bank For New York City will be there to help.”
In addition to their financial contributions, Giants players tomorrow will become much more directly involved in aiding the Food Bank.
“From what I understand they are in a desperate position as far as needing food,” Kiwanuka said. “They have more people to feed than they have ever had and they have less food than they usually have. I think for us to take a day off to bring awareness to the issue would be the least we can do.
“Everybody is affected by (the economic downturn). It hits some people harder than others. We’re not in the same position everybody else is, but we are definitely concerned. We have family members, friends who are definitely affected, so it’s something that is going to affect everybody throughout the country. If we can help just a little bit like this to alleviate some of the pain, it’s something we have to do.”
The players hope their involvement will inspire others to help the Food Bank.
“What we do reflects on what other people do,” Robbins said. “This is the time of year where families need support. We’re getting away from what we do at work to lend a hand to other people.”
“People pay attention to us, whether we like it or not,” Kiwanuka said. “There are days where you don’t want to be in the spotlight, but on days like this it is something we can use to our advantage and we can help other people with the attention we get.”
People who wish to contribute to the Food Bank have several options. They can make a financial contribution, coordinate a food drive or virtual food drive or volunteer. A $1 donation to the Food Bank provides 5 meals. However, if that donation is made during the month of December, it will be eligible for the Robin Hood Matching grant so that $1 becomes $3. To learn more, log on to www.foodbanknyc.org.
For 25 years, Food Bank For New York City has been the city’s major provider of food to New Yorkers in need. The organization works to end food poverty and increase access to affordable, nutritious food for low-income New Yorkers through a range of programs and services that focus on food sourcing and distribution, education and nutrition, financial empowerment, disaster relief, policy and research.
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Keywords · New York Giants · NFL · Thanksgiving · Food Bank ·
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