NY Daily News – October 22, 2014
by Barry Paddock, Larry Mcshane
For a 32nd consecutive year, the Daily News launched its citywide campaign Tuesday to help feed needy New Yorkers through the holiday season. The News and its partners — including the FDNY, NYPD, health benefits company Humana and the philanthropic Starr Foundation — hope to replicate last year’s collection of more than 1 million pounds of canned food.
As always, the program relies on the generosity of Daily News readers to endow the city’s largest anti-hunger effort.
Students from Intermediate School 34 on Staten Island were honored at the roll-out event for collecting 12,500 pounds of food last year — the most of any school in the five boroughs.
“Many New Yorkers continue to struggle to put food on the table,” said Daily News CEO Bill Holiber. “And I hope we can repeat and possibly even surpass the amount of food we collected last year.”
The canned and non-perishable food is then distributed by City Harvest through its network of soup kitchens and pantries. The agency feeds 300,000 hungry New Yorkers every week.
“City Harvest is working hard to keep the shelves stocked,” said Executive Director Jilly Stephens as the food drive began at the Tribeca firehouse of Engine Co. 7/Ladder Co. 1.
“We’ve very fortunate to have the FDNY, the NYPD and all of you,” she added. “The food drive is really a testament to the generosity of New Yorkers.”
New Yorkers can drop off their donations at more than 300 FDNY locations, along with any NYPD stationhouse.
“We at the FDNY are so proud once again to participate in the Daily News food drive,” said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
Staten Island student Jeanmarie Ownens, 12, said that she already had a head-start on this year’s drive.
“I raided the kitchen, took all the cans: ‘Mom do you need these pineapple chunks?’” she said. “We all gathered together, took canned food, boxes, and sent them to people who needed it the most.
“It felt really good.”
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