A “Food For All” event was held on Jerome Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 20, in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. The event was organized by Aleksander Nilaj of The Albanian American Open Hand Association Inc. (AAOHA), Bake Back America, News Reporter and Photographer Miriam Quinoñes, and Melisa Subin of Subin Associates, LLP.

Around 80 boxes of dried and fresh food were given out to about 75 local residents.

The AAOHA has arranged similar food drives in the Bronx in recent months, and it plans to do more in the future as food insecurity in the borough continues to be a concern amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The events are usually supported on the day by local volunteers like Miriam Quinoñes, reporter and photographer with the Norwood News.

Aleksander Nilaj, founder and president of AAOHA, was seen handing out boxes of food on the day, along with some toys for children.

A “community refrigerator” filled with boxed meals was also spotted at the event. The idea behind community refrigerators is that people can take what they want from them or equally donors can donate food and place it inside for others to take at no cost. People are encouraged not to leave dairy or raw meat however.

Nearly all organizers and food recipients were seen wearing masks on the day to comply with statewide recommendations regarding the curtailment of the spread of the coronavirus, as reports of a second wave continue across the world.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently introduced a fine of $50 for anyone found not wearing a mask on public transport.

The food boxes given out on the day of the event were prepared by Great Performance and sponsored by the Albanian American Open Hand Association.

Quinoñes was pleased with the success of the event and issued a thank you message on her Facebook page later that evening. “Aleksander Nilaj and I would like to thank everyone that came to help out – Eric for helping us all to distribute the food, Aleksander Nilaj who drove to pick up all the boxes of food to [be] distributed, Irene Estrada for the toy donations (parents and kids were so happy), Josephine Luna-Turpin for taking the pictures, (I love them), Gloria Bent, her friend Ruth, and Kenny Agosto for your help,” she said. “We gave away 80 boxes of food. God bless you all.”

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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.