This past summer, spiking fuel prices triggered sharp increases in the price of basics like milk and eggs. For New York families already on a tight budget, that meant landing hard at the end of the month, choosing between paying rent and buying groceries. Many turned to soup kitchens and food pantries for the first time in their lives. These very same emergency food programs found the cupboard was almost bare. Corporations had cut back on food donations, and a Farm Bill that was expected to yield large quantities of government-surplus food became stalled in Congress.

In response, Robin Hood partnered with The Joseph & Sylvia Slifka Foundation to provide a $2 million challenge grant to the Food Bank For New York City, the nation's largest food bank. Because Food Bank maintains the highest standards for its 1,000 emergency food providers, we knew the investment would be in good hands. The total $3 million created by this challenge grant will purchase approximately 15 million meals for hungry New Yorkers, helping the Food Bank to meet a critical need as well as strengthen its own donor base for future sustainability.



The Food Bank For New York City, Food for Survival was founded in 1983 by Mary McCormick, a board member of Robin Hood, together with Kathy Goldman, former executive director of FoodChange, and others. Today, C.E.O. Lucy Cabrera is developing new strategies to address the new face of hunger in New York City: working families and the elderly. In the past year, Food Bank has distributed 52 million pounds of food and 9 million pounds of produce. Although virtually unknown to the 1.3 million New Yorkers who will visit a soup kitchen or food pantry this year, the organization is no less than a lifeline.