About the Charities BureauHurricane Sandy Relief Information
City Harvest
12/11/12, Submitted by Mary Beth Henson - Vice President, Finance
Q 1: What is the approximate dollar amount of donations and pledges that
your organization has received to date in response to Hurricane Sandy?
A 1: To date, City Harvest has raised $1.99 million in funds to support our Hurricane Sandy
relief, with donations from individuals, foundations, organizations, and corporations.
City Harvest was also selected as a special beneficiary for the New York Times
Neediest Cases Fund and we have included an estimate for a portion ($250k) ofthe
majority of the expected total in the above figure.
Q 2: Will these funds be used solely for Hurricane Sandy relief? If not,
approximately what portion will be used for Hurricane Sandy relief and
what other purposes will funds be used for?
A 2: Yes, City Harvest expects to use funds raised in support of Hurricane Sandy relief for
our response to the storm.
Q 3: Approximately how much has your organization spent to date on Hurricane
Sandy relief?
A 3: To date, City Harvest estimates that it has spent approximately $1.77 million on our
Sandy relief efforts, including emergency food distribution to affected areas and
expenses to restore our truck fleet and refrigeration equipment, both of which
sustained flood damage during the storm. These estimates include an indirect rate
expense rate of 15% applied to our direct, Sandy-related costs. We also have an
additional $515k in projected direct expenditures that we are likely to incur in the
coming months. In addition, we are also in the process of outlining a plan for
extended relief efforts from mid-December to mid-February , which will be submitted to
our board of directors for approval shortly.
Q 4: What services has your organization provided to those affected by Hurricane
Sandy? What populations or geographical areas are being served by your
organization in response to Hurricane Sandy? What services does it expect to
provide in the future?
A 4: City Harvest has been providing emergency food to the communities hardest hit by
Hurricane Sandy, including Coney Island and Red Hook in Brooklyn, the Rockaways and
Breezy Point in Queens, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Staten Island. Since the
storm made landfall, City Harvest has delivered a total of 1.5 million pounds of food
to these areas.
These food deliveries have been in partnership with a range of organizations including
community-based emergency food programs, New York City Housing Authority, hurricane
relief sites, FEMA, elected officials, the New York City Office of Emergency
Management, and the Red Cross. To date, City Harvest's hurricane-related deliveries
have focused on providing food that required little or no preparation including items
like water, coconut water, juice, shelf-stable foods (e.g. canned goods, granola bars,
pasta, etc.), and fruit. City Harvest staff and more than 1,000 volunteers also have
been involved in this response, helping to prepare tens of thousands of pantry bags
from bulk food donations at City Harvest's Food Rescue Facility in Long Island City.
In addition to delivering shelf-stable food, City Harvest has also helped provide
prepared meals to impacted communities. Building upon our relationships in the
restaurant community, we asked supporters to prepare meals for distribution to those
impacted by the hurricane. In total, we have delivered approximately 30,000 meals with
the support of local chefs, restaurants, caterers, and other partners.
As New York City's response to the Hurricane evolves, City Harvest's work is evolving
alongside it. For many ofthe communities we're serving, power has been restored and/or
those impacted are living in homes that now have the ability to prepare food again. As
a result, City Harvest's food deliveries will begin to shift back to our normal
emphasis on perishable goods, specifically fresh produce. As briefly mentioned in #4,
we're also in the process of outlining a plan that will see City Harvest continue
hurricane relief operations for an 8-week period from mid-December to mid-February.
During this period we expect to continue hurricane-specific food distributions to hard
hit communities through the existing emergency food network and at special hurricane
relief sites that have emerged throughout these neighborhoods. We will also assess the
capacity needs of emergency food programs in these communities as part of the next
phase in our relief efforts.
At the same time, we're hearing from a broad group of emergency food programs across
the city that the general need for emergency food has spiked. Agencies far outside of
Sandy's direct path are feeling its impact as they serve more people, operate as
shelters, and/or expand their services to affected areas. This general increase in
need is likely to continue throughout the holiday season and beyond, with housing a
critical issue to be resolved. When many displaced by the storm find new homes, we
expect that Sandy's true impact will be felt in communities throughout the city. We
plan to stay in close touch with the emergency food network in the coming weeks to
gather information on the demand they're experiencing.
Q 5: Has your organization provided funding to other organizations for Hurricane
Sandy relief efforts? If so, which organizations have received those funds
and what is the approximate dollar amount provided to them? How does
your organization determine the need for funding?
A 5: No, at this time City Harvest has not provided other organizations with funds for
Hurricane Sandy relief. As the response to the storm progresses, it is likely that
City Harvest will re-grant a portion of the funds we've raised to support the
rebuilding and/or repair of emergency food programs in the communities hit hardest by
the storm. Similar to an existing grants program that City Harvest operates on an
annual basis, to identify appropriate organizations we would select grantees through a
request for proposal (RFP) process. City Harvest would evaluate any proposals that we
receive with a grant review committee comprised of City Harvest staff and an external
representative(s). Organizations that receive a grant will be required to report on
the usage of these funds.
Q 6: Has your organization provided, or does it intend to provide, direct financial
assistance to individuals, families or businesses for Hurricane Sandy relief?
If so, what is the approximate dollar amount that your organization
has provided to date and approximately how much direct financial assistance
does it expect to provide in the future? How does your organization
determine the need for assistance?
A 6: No, City Harvest has not provided direct financial assistance to individuals, families
or businesses nor do we expect to in the future.
Q 7: Does your organization have a plan in place on how to use any surplus funds
not spent for Hurricane Sandy relief? If so, please describe that plan.
A 7: City Harvest is carefully monitoring expenditures related to Hurricane Sandy. At this
time, we expect to utilize all funds raised for hurricane relief to support the work
described above. However, as the relief work scales back, if City Harvest has
additional funds we would speak with donors about their willingness to redirect their
gift to support our emergency food deliveries throughout the five boroughs.