City Harvest, New York City

City Harvest and AHA NYC are working together to increase equitable access to healthy and affordable food as Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs of the Healthy Food Retail Action Network.

City Harvest pioneered food rescue in 1982 and, this year, will collect 59 million pounds of excess food to help feed the nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers struggling to put meals on their tables. Through relationships with farms, grocers, restaurants, and manufacturers, City Harvest collects nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it free of charge to 500 soup kitchens, food pantries, and other community food programs across the five boroughs. In addition, City Harvest’s Healthy Neighborhoods initiative addresses long-term food insecurity through community partnerships that work to increase access to affordable and wholesome food. 

City Harvest recognizes that a lack of access to healthy, affordable food, and in turn diet-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes, are important public health issues that must be addressed through broader policy change. City Harvest works with community partners to ensure that residents stay informed about anti-hunger policies and programs, and they advocate at the city, state, and federal level for inclusion in the decision-making process that shapes the local food system.

City Harvest partners with the American Heart Association through the Healthy Food Retail Action Network, and together they are co-creating a budget advocacy campaign to expand access to healthy food for all New Yorkers, especially those who are most impacted by lack of access to affordable, healthy food. We are connecting with stakeholders in the NYC food landscape to shape policy priorities and strengthen the advocacy coalition. Click here to join the campaign.