As the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, public officials are listening to constituents’ concerns, and walking the talk when it comes to addressing ongoing food insecurity.

A number of food drives have been held all across the borough by various elected officials in recent months, and appear set to continue as Bronxites struggle to cope with the ongoing economic crisis. The New York Times reported on July 7 that “the City’s unemployment rate is hovering near 20 percent — a figure not seen since the Great Depression.”

In conjunction with the Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN), a nonprofit dedicated to helping families secure safe, clean, affordable and permanent housing, City Councilman Fernando Cabrera hosted a food and mask giveaway on July 21, in the University Heights section of the borough.

Approximately 150 local residents showed up for the giveaway which included groceries, hot meals, and face masks, and took place under the shade of the trees in the vicinity of West Burnside Avenue and University Avenue.

“This community was one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cabrera said. “We have many essential workers here who risked their lives to keep the rest of us going. We’re all happy about the progress we’ve made as a community and a city in stopping the community spread of COVID-19, but we still have work to do. People still need help and support, including food for their families and face coverings so we can all stay safe and healthy. I am happy to continue providing free food and face coverings to my constituents. We’re in this together.”

Indeed, many West Bronx residents, have been coping with food insecurity for several months now, all while doing the best they can to make ends meet. Cabrera admitted that locals have had their work cut out for them since the pandemic hit. “Food insecurity has been a huge problem in the Bronx before COVID [19],” he said. “The pandemic has caused a dramatic increase in the problem of food access.”

Indeed, according to a 2017 district profile of Bronx community district 5, which covers University Heights, Fordham, Morris Heights, and Mount Hope, 36 percent of the community had incomes below the City government poverty threshold. That compares with 26 percent for Bronxites as a whole, while just 20 percent of New York City residents, on average, fell below the same poverty threshold.

In terms of the demographic breakdown of the district, just 1.1 percent of residents are White (Non-Hispanic), 26.8 percent are Black (Non-Hispanic), 1.2 percent are Asian (Non-Hispanic), 1.4 percent are Other Race (Non-Hispanic), while 69.5 percent are Hispanic.

Cabrera encouraged anyone facing hardship to use the City’s online resources to search for the closest food pantry, as well as its hours of operation.

In nearby Norwood, City Councilman Andy Cohen, in conjunction with State Sen. Jamaal Bailey and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, hosted a food, mask and hand sanitizer giveaway at Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center on July 23, where 600 boxes of dried food, sponsored by Met Council, were ready and waiting to be distributed to local residents.

Asked if he was still receiving the same number of calls regarding food shortages as he had been a few months ago, the councilman said, “No, things have definitely calmed down a lot from the height of the pandemic, but the Met Council’s been a great partner, and you can see people appreciate it, and there’s always a need here.” He added, “There’s tremendous food insecurity in the Bronx, even pre-COVID, so any opportunity we have to just give people a little help, we’re happy to do that.”

Bronx community district 7 covers Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge Heights, Norwood, and University Heights. According to the community district’s profile, pre-pandemic, 27.4 percent of residents had incomes that were below the City government poverty threshold. This was a higher proportion than for Bronxites as a whole, 26.2 percent of whom had incomes below the poverty threshold. Meanwhile, just 19.8 percent of New York City residents, on average, had incomes below the poverty threshold. 

When it comes to the demographic breakdown, the numbers are similar to Bronx CD5 – 5.8 percent of residents are White (Non-Hispanic), 14.9 percent are Black (Non-Hispanic), 5.6 percent are Asian (Non-Hispanic), 2.2 percent are Other Race (Non-Hispanic) and 71.5 percent are Hispanic.

In terms of food quality, Norwood News received some complaints from residents over the last month about the food boxes containing groceries delivered by the City. They said that they sometimes arrived with spoiled food inside. An official at the July 23 event confirmed that the food boxes, sponsored by the Met Council, only contained dried foods. “They’re all non-perishable,” the official said. “They include cans, sandwich wraps. They’re all kosher meals as well.” Another person working the stand said each box was expected to last for about three days. Asked if they were kept busy handing out the boxes, he said the group gave out about 90 boxes within 20 minutes of starting the event.

Norwood News reached out to the City regarding the reported complaints about food quality. Joshua Goodman, a representative, requested further details in order to follow up, and has since done so. “As you know, we take food quality *extremely* seriously,” the representative wrote in a July 21 email. “[We] have fired vendors for failing to meet the quality requirements. For your reference, anyone who has a problem with a delivery can report it immediately at nyc.gov/getfoodhelp or via 311, and we can fix it right away.”

Goodman said that of the 100 million meals distributed to New Yorkers to date, the City had received an overwhelmingly positive response, and therefore, he was very disturbed to hear that spoiled food had been received by residents. He added that it was important that people raised any concerns sooner rather than later, as this made it easier to address any issues.

Norwood News also mentioned that some rumors had been circulating locally about the potential winding down of the Kingsbridge Armory as a food hub and asked Goodman about this. “On your question about the Kingsbridge Armory: there are no plans to stop using it as a food distribution hub,” he said. “As demand stabilizes and the city returns to a kind of normal, we are going to see how many facilities are needed. Even if we did stop using Kingsbridge as a staging area – which, again, there are no plans to do – individuals would not see a difference. The average New Yorker cannot walk up to Kingsbridge and get food – it is a site where taxi drivers go to get food to deliver. If we moved sites, it would just be that, a change in the location from which we stage deliveries. But again, there are NO plans to stop our work out of Kingsbridge at this time.”

At the July 23 event, residents were also encouraged to bring their own bottles in order to refill them from larger containers of hand sanitizer, and masks were also distributed on the day.

Norwood News spoke with some of the residents in line at the event and asked them if they were receiving the necessary support they needed from the City in terms of its response to the pandemic as a whole. One unidentified middle aged man said, “The City has been great. I feel very proud to be a New Yorker because of what we’ve done. I’m very upset with the rest of the country because of the stupidity and ignorance, but that goes to the leaders. That’s not their fault.” He then added, his voice breaking, “I’ve never been in this kind of situation, so it’s very upsetting. I’ve always been wanting to give, not [inaudible].”

A Spanish speaking mother who was also in line with her daughter agreed that the City was handling the situation well.

City Councilman Andy King also arranged a community engagement and food giveaway event on Aug. 1 at 940 East Gun Hill Rd in The Bronx.

Meanwhile, Montefiore Medical Center’s Project Bravo operates a regular free food pantry, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Volunteer, Mary Martinez, said the lines have actually only grown longer since the early days of the pandemic, despite the heat.

Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez and State Sen. Jamaal Bailey also held a Food Giveaway on Thursday, Aug. 13, in the Allerton section of the Bronx. “Always happy to help aid the Allerton Coops & the rest of the Allerton neighborhood this week,” Fernandez tweeted on Aug. 16. “Thank you to @jamaaltbailey and @bellorganization for partnering with our office to help aid our Bronx communities who are still heavily feeling the impact of COVID-19.”

Anyone who is experiencing food insecurity can access resources about where, when and how to find help at nyc.gov/getfood.

The Montefiore Project Bravo pantry is open on Mondays and Fridays from midday to 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to midday at 3058 Bainbridge Avenue. If you are at-risk of infection or elderly, and cannot physically visit the pantry, you can call 347-949-0636 to request a food delivery.

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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.