Every problem has a solution. The solution to hunger in America is Catering for the Homeless, Inc. Most people know that there is enough food going to waste in this country that no one needs to be going hungry. CFTH is doing something about that.

There are approximately 50 million Americans experiencing hunger on a regular basis. They need at least 3 meals a day, right? That equates to almost 55 billion meals a year. With 133 billion pounds of food going to waste in this country annually, getting that food to those who desperately need it could literally solve hunger.

How is Catering for the Homeless different from other nonprofits in this field? Feeding America is currently the leading national nonprofit serving 3.6 billion meals a year, 2 million in NYC, which is wonderful, but it only scratches the surface of the ever-growing need. They work with non-perishable food only, through 200 food pantries in the nation.

City Harvest is stationed in New York City and gets about 1.3 million pounds of fresh produce to farmer’s markets and food pantries throughout all 5 Boroughs with their 180 partners. The Coalition for the Homeless serves 1,000 meals a day, or 365,000 meals a year, through a daily soup kitchen in Manhattan.

Until Catering for the Homeless, there was no local or national nonprofit working to rescue ready-made meals (the largest demographic of food waste), fresh produce, and non-perishable food items for those in need. These other organizations receive millions of dollars from the government and community to do their important work. CFTH has received no funding or financial aid from the government at all.

Catering for the Homeless is the only organization working to connect all types of food excess going to waste in every neighborhood of every borough every day of the year, to the millions going hungry every day of the year, through non-profits, churches, catering companies, schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. We are also the leading organization in NYC providing clothes and toiletries. By the end of 2020, after 4 years of incredibly hard work, CFTH will have served over 800,000 meals, 50,000 non-perishable food items, 50,000 toiletries, 20,000 clothing items, and 20,000 socks distributed in every borough of New York City except Staten Island, mainly in Queens.

With commitments already in place, next year we project to serve a minimum of 30,000 meals per week, or 1.56 million meals per year, and will likely serve more as we continue to procure more partnerships on a regular basis. After 4 years, we have 120 partners in our network. We have commitments in 2021 for donations of at least 10,000 socks for the homeless, and 150,000 non-perishable food items for people, and even animals in need, as 45% of the homeless keep their animals with them.

The web development of a log in and phone app is absolutely essential to the expansion of this program. The government funding which was promised to Catering for the Homeless in 2020 was reneged, so we were not able to fulfill our vision this year. With only a few thousand dollars we received from generous community members and a few small grants, we were able to purchase tens of thousands of non-perishable food items for 30+ food pantries around Queens that were depleted in the heart and in the heat of the pandemic. 

After four years, I can only hope that the government and the community can see the value of this work, and our proven method of success. We would like to one day have thousands of partners around the nation to provide billions of meals every year, as the leading national nonprofit feeding the masses. 

Catering for the Homeless, Inc. is the solution to hunger. I invite you to become a part of this critical endeavor to end the needless suffering of hunger in New York City locally, and in America nationally. 

Please visit cateringforthehomeless.com for more information, to become a partner, to donate money or items, to volunteer, to spread the word, and to become a part of the solution.