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8th Annual Time Out For Hunger

16 Mar

On Sunday March 20th, 2011 you can dine out in New York City and donate to the Food Bank for NYC at the same time. How you ask? It’s simple: go to one of over 150 participating restaurants and eat a delicious meal; the rest will be taken care of, as 10% of the day’s proceeds will be donated to the Food Bank. These restaurants are the favorites of Time Out New York, every New Yorker’s go-to magazine for the city’s weekly offerings, so you can rest assured that no matter which place you choose you’ll be leaving full and happy. Since there are so many to choose from, I’ll help you out by listing my top picks (all NY’ers are self-proclaimed foodies and I’m no exception):

Bombay Talkie
189 Ninth Avenue

Txikito
240 9th Avenue

Porchetta
110 East 7th Street

Dos Toros Taqueria
137 4th Avenue

The Mermaid Inn
568 Amsterdam

Las Ramblas
170 West 4th Street

Bark Hot Dogs (BK)
474 Bergen Street

Motorino Brooklyn (BK)
319 Graham Avenue

For a complete list that will be updated until the day of the event, click here. Will you be dining out for hunger? If so, where?!

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G&G For the Holidays: Gifts That Give Back

1 Dec
2010

This post is part of the second annual NYC Bloggers Do the Holidays, where a group of New York’s top bloggers join forces to bring you the best that this city has to offer for the holiday season! Check out the list of participating bloggers below. Read them all, and you’ll have no problem navigating this city and taking it for all it’s worth…After the jump, check out my contribution: Gifts that Give Back.

‘the improvised life’: Design (or Hack) Your Own Holiday E-Cards

Manhattan User’s Guide: The Gift Guide: 21 Over $21

Markets of New York: Festive Food at New York’s Holiday Markets

Patell and Waterman’s History of New York: Christmas with Andy Warhol

We Heart Astoria: The Best Places To Shop Local – WHA Holiday Gift Guide

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Last year I gave you some tips on where to volunteer all month long (I’ve gone back and updated what I could, so be sure to check it out, and volunteer!). This year, Give and Get will be your guide to shopping for a cause-places to buy gifts while also giving back to your favorite NYC charities. Anyone who receives emails from major retailers is aware of the growing trend of incorporating charitable giving into everyday shopping, especially during this time of year. I’ve tried to compile a list of those who are making contributions to local, New York-based charities, in addition to non-profits who are offering online catalogs that benefit their own organization directly. I’ve also thrown in a few alternative gift ideas that are great for that rich relative who has everything…Read on, my friends, and get ready to knock out your gift list and good deed for the day at the same time.


For people who love kids…

– Retailers owned by participating Friends of Baby Buggy will donate 10% of proceeds to Baby Buggy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing New York City’s families in need with essential equipment, clothing, and products for their infants and young children. You’ll need a special code at checkout to make sure the donation is made-listed below:

  • Gift Hero: Carries gifts for age 0-10. Code: BUGGY2010
  • Kirna Zabete: Soho shop that carries designers such as Lanvin, Givenchy, Celine, Proenza Schouler and more. Code: KZLOVESBABYBUGGY
  • Baby CZ: A luxury line of cashmere, cotton and silk clothes & accessories for babies, children and women. Code: BUGGY
  • Felix Rey: An ultra-feiminine luxury accessories brand. Code: BUGGY10


For food-loving NYC locals…

– God’s Love We Deliver, a popular non-profit organization that delivers food daily to home-bound New Yorkers, delivers more than just meals during the holiday season. Clients receive gift baskets full of delicious treats (and meals), all delivered in shopping bags decorated by school children. You can purchase gifts from their holiday catalog, including GLWD aprons and oven mitts, wine glasses and more, with proceeds benefiting the organization. With demand for their services up 21% in just the first three months of the current fiscal year, a purchase from here will be more important than ever before.

 

Going once, going twice…

– Bidding For Good is an online auction platform that allows non-profit organizations to set up fundraising auctions for themselves that maximize their reach and potential to raise more money. You can search by cause and/or state, or just by auction items, which range from restaurant gift certificates to all-inclusive vacations, all benefiting a specific charity! This is a great site to use if you’re a fan of Ebay, or want to find a specific cause to give to while you shop..The auctions run for a few weeks, so be sure to check back for new causes and items throughout the month. Currently running is an auction to benefit the West Side YMCA Teen Center; it’s running until December 10th at 9pm- bid now!

 

For your tchotchke-loving friend or coworkers…

– Exit 9 has been called a cross between a museum gift shop and a kitschy toy store. After passing by last weekend, I can confirm that it is in fact, just that. You’ll be able to find gag gifts, iPod accessories, children’s craft kits and everything in between. My favorite were the bandaids that look like strips of bacon (which I got for my 6-yr old nephew). More importantly, they’re encouraging people to shop locally while supporting local charities. During their ’12 Days of Charity’ promotion (December 1st-12th) you’ll be able to choose which of the eight local non-profit organizations they’ve listed will receive 10% of profits. Organizations include: BARC Brooklyn Animal Rescue Coalition, GenerationOn, God’s Love We Deliver, LES Girls Club, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, Public School 58,  Public School 261, Transportation Alternatives. You can shop online, or find even more merchandise at one of their two retail locations (in Brooklyn and on the LES)

 

For the person who has everything and enough money to buy it if they don’t…

– Let’s call this person Charlie. Charlie is the hardest person to get gifts for. Unless it’s perishable, you’re likely getting him something he already has, or doesn’t want. In the past few years, I’ve taken a departure from the traditional gifts and began to give donations in other people’s names. It’s a really personal gesture that will (hopefully) make them much more appreciative of your gift than last year’s wine stopper or coaster set. More specific ideas for your Charlie:

  • Does your Charlie love the outdoors? Make a donation to MillionTreesNYC or Fresh Air Fund. An avid gardner? Help fund a project on ioby (‘in our backyards’). Whatever you choose, just be sure to Charlie that you’ve made a donation in his honor. Check out ‘the improvised life‘ blog for more tips on double-duty gifts and cards, and Cards That Give, a great source for charity greeting cards.
  • If you want to get a little more sentimental, you can request/pick up a letter to Santa (depending on your budget-gifts requested are usually under $40-maybe more than one). You can fulfill a child’s wish by sending them their gift from Santa on Charlie’s behalf. Give the child’s letter to Charlie with a note that says something along the lines of “In lieu of a gift, I’ve given this little girl the Barbie she always wanted and couldn’t afford, on your behalf..” You can get these letters from the James A Farley Building in midtown. (New York Cares runs a similar program but registration has closed)
  • If your Charlie is a little more global-minded, you can gift something even bigger, with long-lasting effects. Heifer International allows you to donate sheep, llamas, goats and more, to impoverished children and families around the world, and help them receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant. After your donation, you’ll have the opportunity to create a printable gift card or e-card to tell Charlie that you’ve honored him with a Heifer gift. (Update: It’s been brought to my attention that there are differing opinions regarding HI’s practices and their ethical merit. Read here about another point of view. Charity Navigator is one place to check on how donations are distributed by NPOs- know who you’re donating to before you donate, always)

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So there you have it.. some different places to cross people off your list while giving back to some NYC non-profits. Did I miss something? It’s likely! If you’ve got something to add, please comment below or email to info@giveandgetnyc.com.

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Monday Nights at God’s Love

24 Nov
2010

This week is clearly a good time to give back and be thankful for what you have. I had signed up to volunteer with a group who was distributing Thanksgiving groceries (turkey, cranberry sauce, the whole 9) on Sunday, but received an email a few days prior telling me that pantry had lost a major donor and would not have enough food to warrant all the volunteers they had planned on having. I was really sad for a few reasons, number one being that a lot of families would be going without the traditional Thanksgiving day meal this year, which seems almost un-American and breaks my heart. Another reason was that I was left with little time to find another holiday opportunity, since things fill up so quickly this time of year, and it was really important to me that I give back this week. Luckily, my friend McKenzie volunteers weekly with God’s Love We Deliver and was able to get me a spot on the chopping block (almost literally) with her Monday night team of regulars.

I was greeted by the fabulous, super-enthusiastic, Volunteer Services Specialist Emily, who gave me a short form to fill out before heading downstairs to the kitchen (since I’ve volunteered here before, I got to skip the kitchen safety speech). After putting on a very fashionable hair net, tying on an apron and washing my hands, I was ready to get down and dirty with… mushrooms! We chopped up boxes of mushrooms that would be used in a meal for the next day while chatting away. After those were done, we moved on to kidney bean sorting; this consisted of dumping handfuls of beans at a time onto a tray and sorting the bunch for rocks and other small items that are the same size as beans but not nearly as delicious. Apparently when buying beans in bulk that are machine-sorted, there is a tendency for bean-like things to pass through unnoticed, and since no one likes to eat rocks (except maybe this guy–ew), God’s Love takes the extra time to make sure their beans are, well, all beans. After 100 lbs were declared rock-free by our group of eight, we finished off the night chopping onions.

Emily came back into the kitchen for a quick pep talk and thank you to all the volunteers, and announced the meal that would be served the next day and for Thanksgiving. She does this every night (with gusto!), and I think it’s a great way to connect the volunteers to the rest of the organization; you could spend two hours in the kitchen chopping or packing food with no idea what happens next. It’s nice to have someone come in and tell you exactly what those mushrooms were for, and how many people will benefit from your hard work (we had helped to prepare 1,800 the night I was there!). We cleaned and sanitized our station tables, said our goodbyes, and that was all she wrote.

One thing I loved about volunteering that night was to be able to participate and interact with the regulars. I’m typically pretty shy when it comes to meeting new people, but with my friend there, I was able to jump right into conversation while we chopped away. It also made me realize one of the downsides to volunteering somewhere different each week: I don’t really get a chance to create personal bonds, only fleeting friendships that last a few hours. The Monday night team knows each other; they greet each other with hugs, ask how this one’s daughter is or how that one’s vacation went. It’s a group of people, from different backgrounds I’m sure, that all have one common interest which creates a special bond that will surely last a lifetime, regardless of how long they stay with God’s Love in the kitchen. I’m thankful that they let me into the circle for a few hours.

Just as important, is that God’s Love We Deliver is prepared to cook, package and deliver over 3,000 meals tomorrow!* You can read here about the weekend leading up to the big Turkey Day, which was chock full of activity, from the Annual Race to Deliver to filling and decorating 1,850 holiday baskets: https://www.glwd.org/volunteers/news.jsp .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

*They may still be in need of people with cars to help with the huge delivery; if you’ve got one and are able to help out, email volunteer@glwd.org or  call 212.294.8158 with any questions.

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Gobble Gobble Give.

11 Nov

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and you know what that means: you’ll soon be eating the biggest, most delicious meal of the year followed by a  delightfully acceptable food coma immediately afterward. Unfortunately,  not everyone in this city will be able to celebrate and give thanks,  because they may not be able to afford the basic necessities, let alone a stuffed turkey with all the fixin’s. Luckily, there are a lot of  organizations that will be delivering food over the next week leading up to (and on) Thanksgiving day. Here are a few that may need your help:

 

Yorkville Common Pantry: Located on the Upper East Side/East Harlem line, this is one of the city’s largest food pantries. Every year they have a Turkey Drive that runs from late August all the way up to Thanksgiving Day. A $30 donation is enough to give Thanksgiving Dinner to a family of 5; YCP serves about 2,000 families in need, so as you can imagine, they need a lot of turkeys. They may also need a hand organizing and distributing the donations from their pantry. Please contact Stefana Soitos at 917-720-9722, or at ssoitos@ycp.org for more information about donating turkeys, and visit the website for information about the abundant volunteer opportunities they have available.

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God’s Love We Deliver: They need delivery volunteers to deliver their clients’ meals and Thanksgiving baskets all over NYC and parts of New Jersey on the morning of Thursday, November 25th.  You must have a car and a partner to deliver. Please contact Emily at efindley@glwd.org for details. Sidenote: They will also be delivering their Winter Holiday meal on Friday, December 24th (aka Christmas Eve day). If you want to plan ahead, email Emily and let her know you’ll be able to help out.

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City Meals-On-Wheels: Much like God’s Love, Meals-On-Wheels will likely need help preparing and delivering meals next week to the home-bound clients that they serve. Visit their website for more information about volunteering, and let them know you’re able to help on Thanksgiving.

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Coalition for the Homeless: This organization delivers food, clothing and blankets by truck to 31 stops in Manhattan and the Bronx. The Grand Central Food program has three vans that operate 6:30-9:30 p.m. every night of the year, including Thanksgiving. Visit the website to see the full routes, and for more information about volunteering, please email volunteer@cfthomeless.org.

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St John’s Bread and Life: This pantry is located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. There are a slew of volunteer opportunities available, so contact them and find out where they may need some extra hands next week (or in general!): the main Soup Kitchen serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, the food pantry is open 5 days a week, and the Mobile Soup Kitchen -a compact, mobile extension of Bread and Life- serves daily hot meals and provides outreach services to a number of New York City’s most impoverished communities located in East New York, Brownsville, Jackson Heights, Coney Island and Williamsburg.

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Love Kitchen: Join the NYC Urban Project on Saturday, November 20th, as they pack and serve 500 lunches for those in need of a meal in Washington Heights for “Feed 500” from 9am-5pm. You’ll not only be packing the lunches, but you’ll take to the streets to deliver them while sharing a story or two. This is more than a food delivery to the needy; this is an attempt to connect you to the people that you’re helping, taking away the barrier of coming from different places, and just enjoying a meal. Visit the Urban Project website for more details about what you’ll need, and if you’re interested in volunteering please contact nycurbanproject@gmail.com . You can go solo or with a group, and if the 9-5 shift seems like too much, you’re also able to choose between a morning or afternoon shift.

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Church of the Holy Trinity: On the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Holy Trinity will need volunteers to prepare and package food. On Thanksgiving day, volunteers heat and prepare food for takeout, and deliver meals to recipients’ homes. Shifts are spread out over various days and hours, so it looks like a good fit for someone with a busy 9-5 type job. To volunteer, email Lydia Colon. If you miss out on Thanksgiving, check out their website for more year-round opportunities.

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Updated 11/11 Feeding NYC: They need over 300 people to help assemble, pack and deliver meals for Thanksgiving, and are hoping to reach 8,000 families this year. Visit their website to read more about the organization, and fill out this form to sign up for volunteering on November 23rd during one of the 5 shifts available. If you can’t make it on the 23rd, you can go to the Hudson Terrace on November 18th instead; Feeding NYC will be having a cocktail party to help raise money for all the Thanksgiving meals they’ll be giving out (tickets are $35 or $105. Details here)

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Updated 11/23: Time Out New York listed some more opportunities on their website. Check it out for some last minute ideas!

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So there you have it. Before you sit down for the gluttony that is a Thanksgiving Day feast, take a few hours to give back to others less fortunate than you. Trust me, it’ll make you feel truly thankful for all that you have.

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Are you an organization that needs volunteers for the holidays? Do you know of opportunities available? Contact me at info@giveandgetnyc.com or comment below so I can add to this post!

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Volunteering at the NYC Wine & Food Festival

22 Oct

On October 9th, I volunteered with the Urban Girl Squad at the NYC Wine and Food Festival. This was the first time I have volunteered at an event that wasn’t directly related to helping the community. Sure, the weekend raised over 1 million dollars for the Food Bank for NYC and Share Our Strength, which is awesome. But like it or not, I’d say 87% of the reason I signed up for this project was to put myself smack in the middle of one of New York City’s biggest food events. Just like many other people in this city, I’m a self-proclaimed foodie, and my friends can attest to the fact that I have most of NYC restaurant’s Zagat ratings memorized. Looking at, eating, and reading about food is how I spend a lot of my free time; so when I received an email from the Urban Girl Squad about their upcoming volunteer event, I signed up immediately. And it’s a good thing I did-the limited number of spots they had available filled up very quickly. Mental note #1 for next year…

When I first arrived on the scene at 9:30am on Saturday at 10th avenue and 13th Street, things were already in motion. Golf carts transporting chefs and sous chefs to the main tasting tent on Pier 54, volunteers getting briefed, gift-bags being sorted. At 10am, the event staff began pulling groups of volunteers and placing them at various stations: the Welcome Center, check-in table, handing out wine glasses for tasting, etc. The Urban Girl Squad group was supposed to be in the Grand Tasting Tent, which is where everyone wants to be: it’s where some of the city’s best restaurants throw down their best plate of food for the hungry, paying masses for four hours straight. As the number of volunteers dwindled around me, it became clear that not everyone was going to be put into the Tasting tent. I also reminded myself that I was there to volunteer my time for a cause, not gawk at food porn. So when the next staff member called out ‘I need 12 volunteers ASAP!’, I dutifully complied and raised my hand.

Turns out, this was the best decision I made all day (the worst being that I skipped breakfast on a day I would smelling and seeing delicious food for hours). The twelve of us were asked to walk over to the Tishman School Auditorium as fast as we could, because the culinary demonstrations were going to begin and there were only a few volunteers there to help usher in guests. Culinary demonstration? Who? What’s that? I was excited and led the pack at furious pace across town.

When we arrived, tasks were immediately assigned and as I took my position inside the auditorium, I realized what was going on. I was at the Whole Foods Market Culinary Demonstration auditorium, where 5 Food Network heavyweights were about to take the stage one by one, and hey, I’m right in front of that stage!

Alton Brown and a not-so-inconspicuous cameraman
Alton Brown and a not-so-inconspicuous cameraman

As guests filed into the auditorium, it was the volunteers job to make sure all of the seats were filled, bags were placed on the floor, and just generally keeping the peace. Not so hard. When the lights went off I made my up to the front of the stage area and off to the side with  another volunteer, where we got to watch the show. Alton Brown, now one of my favorite Food Network chefs, took the stage and basically did a food demo/stand-up comedy routine for 45 minutes. He was hilarious, and I was enthralled as he talked and cooked; I had never seen a cooking show live, I realized, and was able to smell the food as it cooked. Delightful. It ended too soon. But wait, there’s more!

For the next show, I switched jobs with another volunteer who had been directing foot traffic to the correct entrances. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t the only volunteer who had come (partially) for the food. After everyone was seated, I was reassigned to the balcony which was pulling double duty as a VIP section and camera vantage point for the Food Network crew. I was told to escort the VIP’s to the bathroom, exit, or anywhere else they wanted to go; in the meantime, I could watch the show. Lights, camera, Giada De Laurentiis! Lucky for me, none of the VIP’s needed a bathroom break and I was able to watch the Everyday Italian do her set uninterrupted.

The view from the balcony

After Giada’s audience cleared out, all of the volunteers gathered in the lobby again for our new assignments. Next up was Rachael Ray, so I took my lunch break. I would say ‘it was just lunch time, nothing against Rachael Ray’, but really, I just don’t like her, and I feel okay saying that because there are millions of people who love her enough so I don’t have to. Also, I was so hungry and the smell of Giada’s garlic was pervading all my senses. I headed over to the Tishman Cafeteria where volunteers were given a beautifully well-balanced selection of box lunches. I ate quickly so that I didn’t miss the next Food Network Chef: Guy Fieri.

This time, I requested to be put back on stage duty; I knew my time was almost up (my shift had actually ended an hour prior), and I wanted to squeeze one last glorious moment up front. Also, I’m a rockstar when it comes to diffusing difficult seating situations. I find it necessary to mention the slew of elements that accompanied Guy’s set and no one else: flashing lights, heavy metal music, sound effects, promotional aprons and various food items being thrown into the audience, and more open-ended tangents than I could keep up with.

After Guy wrapped up, I decided it was time to go. There was one person left, Paula Deen, whom I was too tired to wait for. After a full day of volunteering, I hopped on my bike in my brand new, bright pink Food Network t-shirt and went home to take a nap and dream of food.

Here are some mental notes I’ve taken for next year (oh i WILL be back):

#1: Sign up as soon as possible. Urban Girl Squad had about 30 spots, and they were filled within a day or two. Lucky for you, the Food Bank has another 950 or so spots that you can snag. They have shifts open all weekend long for over 1,000 volunteers; if you want to see a particular demo or tasting, you can probably compare and contrast the volunteer schedule with the Festival schedule, and sign up accordingly.

#2: Don’t skip breakfast. This is a food event where you can’t technically eat the food that paying guests are eating. It’s torturous if you’ve got an empty stomach.

#3: Don’t assume you deserve to get a tasting plate or goodie bag. It’s not nice to assume. After all, you are volunteering your time for the Food Bank, not to exchange for free stuff. Right?

#4: Don’t go crazy when you see a famous chef, whip out their cookbook you “happened to have on hand”, and ask for an autograph. You’re an employee of the Food Bank and the production company while you’re volunteering, and you’re expected to act accordingly. Also, if you keep your cool, you’ll be given more responsibilities, like stage duty!

#5: Don’t tell too many people. If word gets out that you can go to the Festival free while other people are shelling out major bucks, there won’t be any spots left for me and you.

SAVE THE DATE: Next year’s NYC Wine and Food Festival (Presented by Food & Wine Magazine and Travel & Leisure) will be on September 29th-October 2nd.

 

Goodbye for now..

 

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