How One Front Line Hunger Organization Has Adapted to Feed New Yorkers in Need

Prioritizing protection of workers and customers changed its operations

Two staffers pre-pandemic. Photos courtesy of West Side Campaign Against Hunger

For years as a chef and restaurateur, I would grind out hours on the line, take late-night inventory, call in Sunday morning orders with farmers and basically work 24/7 to make sure we put out the best food on every plate in my restaurants in Ithaca, New York.

In 2008, I sold my restaurants and spent the last dozen years — across three continents, two national capitals, and now on the front lines of fighting food insecurity in New York City — focused on fixing our complex and inequitable food system every day.

The West Side Campaign Against Hunger

Once the pandemic hit, in a matter of days, we shifted our 25-year-old free grocery store model — serving 22,000 customers and offering consumer choice — to a streetside, pre-bagged, farmers market-style set up to ensure staff and customer safety and continue to bring healthy food to New Yorkers in need.

Leading the West Side Campaign Against Hunger since 2017, I thought the craziness of my restaurant years were behind me. We thoughtfully planned this fiscal year, and the team was beginning the implementation of our five-year…