2023 Impact Update
A year of growth and possibility.
It’s been a great start to 2023 thanks to your support!
This year has been off to an incredible start; we can’t believe it’s halfway through. Our volunteers have been working hard and cooked 1,000 more meals every month than last year. Coincidentally, our donated groceries also increased by 1,000 pounds every month! This incremental but lasting growth is partly thanks to the two walk-in coolers installed at the end of last year, but it is only possible with the ongoing support of all our donors, volunteers, board, and growing staff.
Impact By the Numbers
124,945 Pounds
Groceries through May 2023
Almost 25,000 pounds per month!
33,202 Meals
Made through May 2023
1,000 more meals per month than 2022!
1,785 Hours
Of volunteers working in the kitchen making nutritious meals.
2023 Programs and Partnerships
Our programs and processes often sound like a lot, and that’s because they are! Second Chance Foods is a hub for rescuing food from grocery stores, farms, and other food partners and providing them to the organizations feeding the community that doesn’t have the space, time, staff, and capacity to take these efforts on. We’re also filling the needs of hunger relief organizations to have more fresh foods, ready-to-serve hot meals, and prepared options for recipients to take home and eat later. Our partnerships are different and unique to the needs of the organization and community members it serves, and so is the food we cook and connect them with!
“Second Chance Foods took a lot of the pressure off me on those days when I didn’t know what I was going to do and what i was going to pull together that my kids would eat and enjoy. It was a relief.” -CSN Box Recipient
Meals that Make Healthy Eating Easy and Delicious
Every month an average of 6,600 meals are cooked in the Second Chance Foods kitchen by dedicated volunteers. But did you know these meals supply food for eight programs, each serving a different area? We’ve highlighted a few of these programs in the past, like our collaboration with New Era Creative Space at Dunbar Heights. This low-income housing development is in a food desert, making fresh food options difficult for many residents. This started as food to incentive participation from youth to attend the New Era Creative Space after-school programming focused on creativity, character building, arts, and homework help. But, after making two meals a week for Dunbar Heights, we noticed more and more requests to take food home and family members as young as two showing up for a meal. We’re happy to increase the food we bring each week to Dunbar Heights and expand to bring extra fruits and easy snacks like our dehydrated apples for the youth to bring home and share with the whole family. You may also remember our Bountiful Meals program that, which provides grab-and-go meals to seniors, our partnership with Putnam CAP providing hot meals, and our first Saturday meals for Hope On A Mission that includes 400-500 servings of food for our unhoused neighbors.
In addition to these partnerships, we provide complete meals for 65 residents at the Danbury Pacific House Homeless Shelter five times a month. About 165 meals are delivered to Glory2God Ministries of Newburgh twice a month. We also serve the Peekskill Salvation Army with meals twice a month.
Community Supported Nutrition – CSN Boxes with Meals and Groceries
Our own direct distribution! These weekly boxes are filled with nutritious meals and groceries to provide an easy, accessible food pickup for those needing assistance. Previously called “Wednesday Distribution,” we thought Community Supported Nutrition speaks more truly to what goes into each box and the collaborative efforts that made this program possible. CSN boxes have grown from 15-20 on average in 2020 to nearly 90 households this past week, supporting over 300 people! Read more about the creation of this program and the volunteers who help make it happen here – or watch the video to look at the variety that goes into a box!
"This program has been a tremendous blessing because many people are struggling even after COVID. (Mt. Carmel) has a pantry with non-perishables open four days a week, but the meals and fresh food provided are so essential to the people who need it." -Pastor Andrew Columbia, Mount Carmel Baptist Church
Fresh Grocery Connection
We don’t mention the groceries in as much detail as our meals; can you blame us when the kitchen makes such delicious dishes? But, many of the items we receive are still in peak condition and don’t need to be cooked to be enjoyed. So, this program connects perishable produce to food pantries that otherwise cannot provide fresh items. In many cases, we are the only or primary source of fresh food for the pantry, giving their recipients more options and complete assistance. On a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, we connect fresh groceries to these food pantries and community organizations and sometimes others not listed that need less frequent assistance but know they can always call us for a little extra.
- Fareground
- Fishkill Food Pantry
- Gilead Food Pantry
- Patterson Food Pantry
- Phillipstown Food Pantry
- Church of the Holy Spirit
- Let it Shine
- Ossining Food Pantry
“I've been meaning to tell you how much what you do helps. It really keeps us going and allows our clients access to some wonderful items. It takes the edge of that feeling that comes along with having to go to a food pantry.” -Fishkill Food Pantry, Special Projects Coordinator
Why Capacity Matters
We’ve mentioned the importance of growing our capacity to increase our impact. Until 2021, we were a staff of one. Martha Elder managed all the volunteers to collect, cook, harvest, transport, and connect food with the community. Not only did that include planning all the meals, but everything else it takes to run a nonprofit, like overseeing the board of directors, budgeting, raising funds needed to support all the efforts above, advocating and educating the community on food waste and hunger relief – and so much more. You’re right if this sounds like enough work for multiple full-time jobs! That’s why in 2021, the Operations Assistant Job was created. Then, in 2022 we expanded the team to add a Development Director, followed by a Kitchen Manager and Volunteer Coordinator earlier this year! This internal growth will help us take Second Chance Foods into the next stage of the organization and ensure more food is connected with our neighbors in need of assistance. Meet all our board and staff here!
Looking Forward
As the year continues, we look forward to the abundance of local, organic produce from our farm partners and private orchards. The summer will also bring an increased need for hunger relief for children out of school and an ongoing need throughout the community. Our goal is always to remain flexible in our operations and respond to new needs and partnerships. For example, the Bountiful Meals program will expand beyond the senior centers to assist more community members, and we can’t wait to see how this effort progresses!
All of our success so far this year is because of you! All your donations, volunteer hours, and advocacy for us advance our mission of connecting healthy food to our neighbors in need of food assistance. As hunger and the need for food assistance continue to rise, we hope you stay involved with us so that together we can nourish those in need. Thank you for joining us in food justice!
Save the Dates!
Looking for more ways to get involved or support Second Chance Foods? Join us at an event or sign up to volunteer!
- September 3, 2023 Westchester Road Runner 5k at Roaring Brook Lake in support of Second Chance Foods – Registration open soon.
- November 19, 2023 Volunteer Appreciation “Friendsgiving” Potluck
- Harvest Celebration – Fall Fundraiser date and details to come
**Spoiler Alert!** We are so proud and humbled to be featured on the CBS Morning News program and share our innovative model for food rescue and hunger relief to the nation! Date and more information to come