Access to healthy affordable food is a major issue in the communities we serve. The most abundant sources of food are not always the healthiest choices.  Fresh produce, poultry, eggs, dairy and other meat products are the most critical right now with high prices and shortages exacerbating the problem, resulting in food insecurity.

2020 map of Westchester showing shaded areas of poverty. Existing Pantries, Meal Programs and Home Delivery Sites are shown as red, blue and green circles respectively.

From the map, it is easy to see that food programs tend to be concentrated in pockets where poverty is highest, but there are many communities where poverty and hunger remain a problem. These are known as food deserts. MOMS looks to share its expertise in reaching these pockets where food insecurity and hunger reside.

During the pandemic, we reached out to local restaurants to supplement the meals prepared by our kitchen. Restaurants agreed to prepare trays of entrees and offer them to us at cost, helping us keep the cost of a meal low. The restaurants benefited by keeping their staff employed and active.

Volunteers assemble family-style meals from food prepared by restaurants and our kitchen.

We have continued this relationship because of. its cost effectiveness.

62% of the food we distribute comes from direct donations from supermarkets and individual school and organization food drives.  Beginning in 2021, we increased our involvement with local farms, buying CSA (Community Sourced Agriculture) shares with grants from the Food Sovereignty Fund and Episcopal Charities. In 2022, we grew our farm-to-family program considerably, with funding from Westchester Community Foundation, Westchester County and others. Today, 19% of the food is purchased from farms, with 14% from Restaurants and 5% from Feeding Westchester.

Tedeschi Trucks Band collected food for MOMS at The Capitol Theatre during its weekend shows.

With a grant from Feeding America and Feeding Westchester, and a partnership with County Harvest, we have plans to pick up food donations from more local supermarkets, helping to ensure that no food goes to waste. The goal is to more than double the amount of perishable food we collect weekly so we can keep our pantry trucks well stocked throughout the year, not just during the harvest season.