As an organization committed to our community’s health, on March 16th when MOM and the rest of the City closed for the pandemic; we re-oriented our programming from in-house food production and programming to delivery and distribution of meals and dry and canned goods throughout our network. Our service area encompasses some of the poorest neighborhoods with the worst air quality in the City.
We had to furlough most of our staff due to a lack of funding and programs that were shut down. However, 4 out of our 12 staff members are currently volunteering to purchase, box, deliver and distribute 500 – 800 (250-400 families) meals a day. In addition, we have resumed and renamed “La Canasta” to “Heidi’s Canasta” in honor of Heidi Hynes, our beloved ED who passed away in November of 2019. We restarted the program with a focus on delivering the essentials during the pandemic, Heidi’s Canasta includes food, hygiene, and cleaning supplies and we are able to deliver to at least 400 families weekly through a network of community leaders.
We have received food donations from, the Open Society Institute, Dominican Bar Association, The Bronx Club of the National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women’s Club, Inc, and many individuals who have supported our work through personal donations as well. If you wish to make a contribution, click here.