Bedford Park “Business Solution” Joins AAOHA to Help Solve Local Food Needs Also

By DAVID GREENE

(L to R) DELIA ALCARDE, LUIS Sanchez Jimenez, president of L Jimenez Business Solution, and *Norwood News* photographer, Miriam Quiñones, pose for photo at a Food Giveaway held on Friday, May 21, at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, The Bronx.
Photo by “Pablo,” a volunteer

L. Jimenez Business Solution (LJBS) is the place to go to fax a document, create a résumé or prepare one’s taxes, but for almost two months, hundreds of local residents have been lining up outside the location for food now also.

On Friday, May 21, a crowd of well over 100 people once again lined up outside LJBS, located at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard for a Food Giveaway sponsored by the Albanian American Open Hand Association (AAOHA), and organized by AAOHA, Miriam Quiñones, Norwood News photographer, and LJBS.

The line stretched up Bedford Park Boulevard and around the Grand Concourse. Luis Sanchez Jimenez, president of LJBS, Quiñones, Aleksander Nilaj, founder of AAOHA, drivers and volunteers were seen busily emptying vans and handing out boxes of food to the public. Smiling, Sanchez Jimenez said, “More is on the way.”

SOME OF THE food handed out during a Food Giveaway on Friday, May 21, at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

LJBS recently teamed up with the AAOHA and has been hosting food giveaways every Friday at its premises. On Friday, the sealed boxes contained a gallon of milk, apples, and meatballs to name just a few of the food items. Sanchez Jimenez explained, “Whatever food I get… and they [the people] just show up.”

He added, “We need it. The people are here and they’re asking.” Pointing to the Grand Concourse, he said, “You see the line over there.” He added, with a smile, “And we’re glad to do it.”

(L to R in foreground) VOLUNTEERS, GJERGI ZAGREDA AND Eliu Torres, empty a van filled with food boxes ahead of a Food Giveaway, sponsored by the Albanian American Open Hand Association, held on Friday, May 21, at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Bedford Park resident, Rita Sanchez (no relation to Sanchez Jimenez), had just recently learned of that particular food giveaway, but explained that she had received similar food boxes from other sources throughout the pandemic.

Sanchez, who said she was lucky enough to have worked through the pandemic, said of the food giveaway, “I think it’s really good that they’re giving this out to the community because it’s so hard to get food.”

(L to R), LUIS SANCHEZ JIMENEZ, president of L. Jimenez Business Solution, and Aleksander Nilaj, founder of the Albanian American Open Hand Association, partner to distribute food to the local community during a Food Giveaway held Friday, May 21, at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, The Bronx. Miriam Quiñones, Norwood News photographer, was also one of the event partners.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

She added, “It’s very expensive nowadays. It’s a very beautiful thing, especially with COVID, so I really do appreciate it. Usually, they have yogurt, fruits and vegetables…..things that you can use every day, so it’s really great.”

Feeling fortunate to still have a job, Sanchez added, “It does help, especially being home all the time, working remotely, so I’m home eating more and it definitely does help.”

(L to R) VOLUNTEER AND DRIVER, Mark Pjetrushi, Luis Sanchez Jimenez of L. Jimenez Business Solution, volunteer, Eliu Torres, Albanian American Open Hand Association founder, Aleksander Nilaj, and *Norwood News* photographer, Miriam Quiñones, got together to distribute food boxes during a Food Giveaway held at 206 East Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, The Bronx on Friday, May 21, 2021. In total, 245 boxes of food were given out to the local community.
Photo by “Pablo,” a volunteer

Sanchez Jimenez said LBJS holds the weekly food giveaway every Friday at the same location at 2 p.m., and the boxes are distributed to anyone on line, on a first come, first served basis.

A total of 245 boxes was given out to the community on the day according to Quiñones.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, May 25, Bronx District 13 City Councilman Mark Gjonaj, issued a statement, calling for the extension of the federal food box program amid the ongoing pandemic.

Please stand with us, click & sign this #petition, calling on the federal government to #extend the #FoodBoxProgram for struggling New Yorkers. Since the start of the pandemic along with community organizations we have given out over 125,000 food boxes. https://t.co/PLsTzcKomJ

— Mark Gjonaj (@MarkGjonajNY) May 25, 2021

“Please stand with us, click & sign this #petition, calling on the federal government to #extend #FoodBoxProgram for struggling New Yorkers,” he wrote on Twitter. “Since the start of the pandemic, along with community organizations, we have given out over 125,000 food boxes.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.