Our Lincoln Square location has been hosting food pantries since 2017. This summer, we’re offering nourishment for the soul, too—in the form of live music.
Students from the Kaufman Music Center, a nonprofit that offers musical instruction for all ages and runs a music-centered public school, will perform every Thursday in August while people pick up their food.
At the debut performance last week, two Bens — Ben Barham-Wiese on drums, and Ben Wolstein on trumpet—played jazz on the sidewalk in front of the neighborhood center to a delighted audience of food-pantry guests and passersby.
“It’s very nice!” said Toshiko Kobayashi. She was lingering to enjoy the music after receiving a large shopping bag stuffed with apples, carrots, cabbage, lettuce and more. “Art is important, especially at times like this.”
Hunger is always too high in New York, and right now it’s even higher than usual. As Gothamist recently reported, the city’s food banks and food rescue organizations have continued to see a sharp increase in demand since the COVID pandemic hit last year.
Goddard fights hunger as part of our mission to ensure every New Yorker has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. Our Lincoln Square food pantries happen on the first through fourth Thursday of each month at 10:30 AM in front of the center at 250 West 65th Street. Musicians will be performing on August 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 10:30 to noon.
We’re grateful for our partners, including Teens for Food Justice, the West Side Campaign Against Hunger and New York Common Pantry.
If you’d like to help fight hunger, we need volunteers two Thursdays a month to unpack pallets of food and organize it in shopping bags. Email volunteers@goddard.org for details. If you need food aid, see the city’s Emergency Food Assistance page here.