Thanksgiving at Goddard is always a celebration of food and community—and this year the holiday joy was flowing on both sides of Central Park, thanks to our strategic partnership with the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center.
Goddard Executive Director Roderick Jones joined Isaacs Center Executive Director Gregory J. Morris on the Upper East Side to help dish up turkey and all the trimmings in the morning. Then they came to Goddard Riverside for meal pickups and deliveries in the afternoon. Together, we provided more than 2,000 hot and festive meals.
“Every year, Holiday Meals is a special time for us and allows us to help those most in need,” said Roderick Jones, Executive Director of Goddard Riverside. “We’re fortunate to have a strong strategic partnership with Isaacs Center to help make sure New Yorkers do not go hungry this Thanksgiving.”
For the second year in a row, Goddard’s traditional sit-down meal was impossible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, smiling volunteers carried the meals by hand all over the Upper West Side, and handed them out from tables next to our headquarters at Columbus and 88th.
The Holiday Meals are just one small part of the anti-hunger effort led by both organizations. Many of our programs provide food—from our children’s and youth programs, to our residences, to the Older Adult Centers. Many also teach their participants about nutrition and healthy eating. The Isaacs Center is known for its food and nutrition programs and recently won a major contract to provide meal deliveries throughout Manhattan.
“Our communities are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic and addressing food insecurity remains a vital part of the City’s road to recovery,” said Morris. “I am deeply grateful for our staff, the team at Goddard Riverside, and our amazing volunteers, whose tireless dedication continues to provide hope and access to those too often left behind, particularly during the holiday season.”
