City Harvest
National Hurricane
Conference Conference
2013
Sandy and The Emergency Feeding Network
• City Harvest
�Feeding America Member - NYC
�Food Rescue and Delivery
�44 Million Pounds, 60% Fresh Produce
�18 Refrigerated Trucks, 3 Cargo Bikes
�Help Feed 1 million people annually
�Responded in Two Disasters
�9/11
�Sandy
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Sandy’s Footprint – New York
• The Surge
�1 Million: Total Population Affected Area
�260,000: Households applying for FEMA
�50,000: People needing food due to disaster
• The Landscape - NYC
�Low Income
�Few Supermarkets, Many Small Stores
�Few Emergency Feeding Agencies
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Relief On The Move
• City Harvest Relief Food Distributed:
October 31 – March 27
�6.0 Million Pounds
�5 Million Meals
• City Harvest Disaster Distribution Sites
�112
• 35 Emergency Food Providers
• 77 Community Pop-Up Relief Sites
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Sandy’s Footprint
Communities in Ruins
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Sandy’s Footprint
Hampered Retail Landscape
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Sandy’s Footprint
Public Housing Challenges – Vertical Rise
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Phases of Disaster Feeding
• Immediate:
� First 72-96 hours
�Assess the Landscape
�Get Food Moving ASAP�Get Food Moving ASAP
�Maintain Daily Operations
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Phases of Disaster Feeding
• Sustained:
�5+ Days after
�Mass Care Feeding
• American Red Cross • American Red Cross
• NYC Mayor’s Office
�4 Part Plan
• Assess the Need
• Solicit Appropriate Food
• Recruit Volunteers
• Build a Parallel Distribution System
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Disaster Feeding: Sustained Phase
Assess The Need:
• Multi Agency Feeding Task Force
�Red Cross
�FEMA
�OEM
�Regional Food Banks�Regional Food Banks
�Feeding America
�NYC Office of the
Mayor
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Disaster Feeding: Sustained Phase
Solicit Specific Food and SuppliesFood
• Ready-to-Eat Snacks
• Hand Fruit
• Beverages
• Baby Food, Formula
• Pop-Top Meals
Non-Food
• Flashlights, Batteries
• Blankets
• Baby Goods
• Toiletries
• Paper goods
• Cleaning Supplies 11
Disaster Feeding: Sustained Phase Recruit Volunteers for Pantry Bag Repack
� Doubled Volunteers = 1,600 in November
� 800,000 pounds of food = 100,000 pantry bags
� 50 Corporations Engaged
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Disaster Feeding: Sustained Phase
Build a Disaster Distribution Model� Inventory at the Ready
� Existing Staff = Hurricane Team
� Third-Party Trucking
� Food Distribution Sites Established
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Phases of Disaster Feeding
• Long Term:�Utilities Coming Back: In-Home Cooking
�Retail Food Stores Open
�Adjust Food Response: Food Boxes: High
Nutrition, Ideal for Home CookingNutrition, Ideal for Home Cooking
�Assess:�Resident Need
�Community Infrastructure
�Adjust Response Accordingly
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Community AssessmentsPeople Served · Are sites seeing new clients weekly or the same individuals regularly?
· Are new clients identifying as displaced by the storm?
· Are there health or mental health concerns being reported?
· Is unemployment significantly higher than before the storm? Due to what
factors?
Utilities Summary · Is the electricity working?
· Is the heat working?
· Is there potable water?
· Able to cook at home?
Retail Summary · Grocery stores open?
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Retail Summary · Grocery stores open?
· Bodegas open?
· Restaurants open?
Support Summary · Are any other food relief funders providing assistance?
· Are the food types being provided appropriate to the current need?
· Are there gaps in food services being reported?
· Are there any other major supports present outside of feeding? Who and what
services are being provided?
Community Summary · Are there community organizations/coalitions forming to address ongoing relief
efforts?
Total Area Summary · [create an aggregate score based on the answers to the questions above]
Best Practices
• Feeding America Connection to National Food
Donors
• Partnership with Red Cross, FEMA, OEM, NYC
Local Government, Occupy Sandy
• Creating the Multi-Agency Feeding Task Force
• GIS Mapping• GIS Mapping
• Flexibility to Work with “Pop-Up” Community-Led
Relief Sites
• Bagging Ready-to-Eat Food Before Delivery
• Parallel Staffing and Operations
• Field Staff On-The-Ground Assessing Need
• Engaging Corporations to Help
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Lessons Learned
• Hurricanes Can Hit New York City
• Establish Local Relationships and Agreements
• Create, Drill, Follow a Disaster Plan
– Organizationally with Staff
– Locally with Partners
– Nationally– Nationally
• Prepare for High-Rise Relief Work
• Prepare to Have Back Up: Trucks, Freezer and
Refrigerated Storage, Generators, Third-Party
Staffing
• When to Say Yes, When to Say No
• Seek Funding Early, Be Clear on Needs
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