Addabbo vows to fight for food pantry to get funds from 2020 budget immediately

As New York continues to face new issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. wants to ensure that our city’s essential services — especially food pantries — are allowed to operate normally.

That is why Addabbo is calling on Governor Cuomo to immediately release the funding for food pantries serving the most neediest individuals, including the $5 million in the 2020 budget’s Special Public Health Emergency Appropriation Account earmarked for the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty, better known as Met Council.

Met Council continues to service their 225,000 existing clients and 40 regular food pantries while mobilizing emergency food to thousands of additional families facing new financial hardship during this pandemic.

“Met Council has been a dedicated community partner for many years, helping low-income New Yorkers receive the food and nutrition they need and deserve,” Addabbo said. “We are facing extraordinary circumstances right now, and we need to make sure that organizations like Met Council are able to provide for their clients when they need it the most. I am working to get the governor to release the funds that will allow Met Council to continue to serve their clients throughout this pandemic.”

During this time, Met Council has even worked out a pilot program partnership with the ride share service Uber to deliver Kosher food directly to the homes of 500 homebound Holocaust survivors.

“I have worked with Met Council for almost 20 years, and I am still amazed at the number of people that they help on a daily basis,” Addabbo added. “As we continue through the Passover season and beyond, we need to come together as a community to make sure that we provide for the most vulnerable of us. I will continue to fight until these funds are released to Met Council.”