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  • A Fresh Bag of Produce
  • Our Operations Team
  • Packing the food!
  • Omar hauling 2,000 pounds of bananas
  • Sneak peak of our bags & some community resources
project leader
Kim C
location
49-09 5th Street
(Long Island City)
latest update rss
What community means to us.

the project

The COVID-19 crisis has made more apparent than ever that communities are struggling to receive the healthy, nourishing food they need to survive. 1.2 million people across NYC are food insecure and the gaps in our broken system are wider than ever.

Through our Lifeline Grocery initiative, we make weekly deliveries of groceries, completely free of charge, to 700+ families a week throughout Queens who have lost work due to the pandemic and do not qualify for government assistance. 

For $35, we can provide a week’s worth of fresh, nutrient-dense groceries to a family of four.  But we need help! Winter’s are especially hard for sourcing good food, and the weather takes a toll on staff and volunteers at our outdoor-only packing facility. 

$42,000 of money raised will go entirely to sourcing our food for the next three months.

$15,000 will help us with high need changes to our job site. Two-thirds goes to paving our current dirt (and mud!) parking lot where we do all our packing. One third helps us insulate and power refrigeration for our shipping containers so we can safely operate in the warmer months. 

 

 

the steps

Our first step is ordering fresh, whole foods from local farms and distributors. 

Next, we will package and directly deliver each grocery bag to our recipients in neighborhoods across Queens. 

We reach households from Western Queens to South Queens in neighborhoods like Corona, Elmhurst, Jamaica, Ozone Park and more.

Each week, we are in close contact with our neighbors receiving groceries to ensure they are getting what they need and that we are providing additional community resources along the way. 

This work is straight forward, but to be done with dignity and care, it requires many hands and the engagement of whole communities.

why we're doing it

We believe that food is a lifeline to EVERY household and that everyone deserves access to nutrient-dense ingredients. Our Lifeline Grocery Initiative is our way of ensuring that every person in Queens has access to local, nutritious food.

We saw how traditional relief efforts and government led programs let people down and left many out. And we are here to radically recreate our systems of food access, security and distribution. A system built from within our community and with people first. 

We talk with our neighbors, look in our own kitchens, raise money, and buy raw foods from local farms and vendors so that food is no longer a choice, but a right enjoyed and experienced by all. 

Join us in moving towards a community where nutritious food is a human right and where we are committed to one another in recreating what food access is.

 

 

budget

Updated Budget 6.17.21



TOTAL PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED $54,960
ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) N/A
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%)
(Donation processing fee does not apply to match funding.)		 $1,700
TOTAL TO RAISE= $56,660

 

Disbursed Budget 4.26.21:

We plan to spend $5k on facilities upgrades and the remaining $26,133.74 towards food costs for our grocery packages. 



TOTAL RAISED = $31,942.00
ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) N/A
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) $808.26
TOTAL TO DISBURSE= $31,133.74

 

Original Budget: 

For $35, we can provide a week’s worth of fresh, nutrient-dense groceries to a family of four.  But we need help! Winter’s are especially hard for sourcing good food, and the weather takes a toll on staff and volunteers at our outdoor-only packing facility. 

$42,000 of money raised will go entirely to sourcing our food for the next three months.

$15,000 will help us with high need changes to our job site. Two-thirds goes to paving our current dirt (and mud!) parking lot where we do all our packing. One third helps us insulate and power refrigeration for our shipping containers so we can safely operate in the warmer months




  Fees for COVID19 project Normal Fees
PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED = $57,000 $57,000
ioby Platform Fee waived $35
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%)
(Donation processing fee does not apply to match funding.)		 $1,763 $1,764
TOTAL TO RAISE = $58,763 $58,799

Please note: ioby fees are estimated and will be calculated based on totals at the end of the campaign.

updates

What community means to us.

Posted 03/23/2021 - 11:23pm

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to this campaign so far! Y'all are amazing and we are at quarter of the way to our goal so far! Everyone at The Connected Chef is so grateful for your support and solidarity!

This past year has shown us the strength of community and how we all have the ability to stand up with one another in a variety of ways. We are excited to announce that on top of all of your donations, we have made some additional community partners with our fellow restaurant owners in Queens who will also be helping to sponsor our Lifeline fundraiser for the next 3 weeks! Stay tuned and follow us on social media @theconnectedchef to learn more about who the partners are and follow the progress of the campaign. 

If you work for a company who does donation matching, please feel free to let us know in an email (kim@theconnectedchef.com). As group donations come in, we can work to get them matched through your employer and double the money!!

And as always, feel free to share far and wide! Together we can make this happen!!

With love, 

The Connected Chef Team

 

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

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