New York pols joined Met Council volunteers on Sunday to pack Thanksgiving meals for those in need.
Met Council is the country’s largest Jewish organization dedicated to serving those in need. Inside the Spitzer Fulfillment Center, located at 171 Lexington Avenue, a group of steadfast volunteers worked carefully and lovingly to fill boxes with food items.
“This is our flagship distribution. We’ve done 35 of these throughout the last two weeks, and this coming week as well. And what we’re doing is we are packing food boxes, including turkey fixings, everything from the pumpkins for the pumpkin pie to the turkey to the stuffing, for thousands of families in all five boroughs,” CEO of Met Council David Greenfield told amNewYork Metro.
According to Greenfield, those in need fill out their order online. Volunteers then take the requests and work to gather and pack items for each individual, then deliver them. This allows residents to receive orders in the comfort of their homes without needing to wait in a long line in the cold or while suffering from illnesses.
Greenfield says those in need this holiday season have myriad reasons for why they’re turning to Met Council.
“The kinds of clients that we have are working-class families who have had something happen to them, and they are struggling to make ends meet. A very good example is a fellow who I met last week, who unfortunately, has cancer. He’s a small business owner in Brooklyn, and he’s been out of work. His business is suffering, and he’s just trying to literally make it through from one side to the next side. And so, we’re assisting him in a variety of ways,” Greenfield explained. “It’s tough to pay for a big holiday where you have a lot of friends and family coming over.”
Several New York politicians also arrived to help pack boxes, including Manhattan state Sen. Liz Krueger, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and City Council Member Gale Brewer.
“I’m so proud to be part of this volunteer effort helping people in need who are facing hunger in Manhattan. The sad truth is, there are people in this borough who don’t know how they’re going to pay for their next meal, people who have to decide between paying the rent or paying for their prescription medicine or paying for food, they tend to be older seniors, often who are alone,” Levine said as he filled a box with pasta and tinned goods. “It feels really good to do something helpful for people in need.”
Met Council also provides affordable housing above the Spitzer Fulfillment Center, where residents also receive boxes of Thanksgiving meals.
