Randall's Island Park Alliance Donates Produce from Urban Farm to Support Local Food Pantries

NEW YORK, June 17, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​The Randall’s Island Park Alliance (RIPA) announced today that it will donate fresh produce from its Urban Farm to help community food pantries fight hunger during the COVID -19 pandemic. RIPA will be donating to two food pantries in New York City – the NY Common Pantry and the LSA Family Healthy Services – under the umbrella of Little Sisters of the Assumption. The donations will equal hundreds of pounds of fresh produce.

Aimee Boden, President of RIPA, said, “The COVID-19 public health crisis has made access to food difficult for many New Yorkers, and the Randall’s Island Park Alliance is glad to be able to help. Our Urban Farm normally hosts thousands of visitors in the spring season, but it is currently closed to observe social distancing. However, the vegetables continue to grow in abundance – and with them, we can help feed and assist our community’s most vulnerable members. With the help of our hardworking city leaders, especially Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, whose devotion to our neighbors in East Harlem is unmatched, we identified the NY Common Pantry and the LSA Family Healthy Services as organizations who would greatly benefit from the Urban Farm produce.”

“We are so thankful that RIPA is assisting our citywide efforts to ensure vulnerable New Yorkers have access to fresh fruit and vegetables during this crisis,” said Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President. “It is crucial that we all come together as one to support our neighbors in need during this unprecedented time. Our city’s food banks are a lifeline for many communities and are seeing overwhelming demand. I am pleased to see that RIPA is playing a role in our ongoing emergency response efforts to make sure New Yorkers affected by COVID-19 will not go hungry.”

About the Randall's Island Park Alliance:

The Randall's Island Park Alliance (RIPA), founded in 1992, is a public-private partnership with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation that seeks to realize the unique potential of 330 waterfront parkland acres anchoring Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. RIPA works with the City and local communities to provide an innovative and exciting destination through a wide range of sports venues, cultural events, and environmental exploration. As the dedicated steward of Randall's Island Park, the Alliance sustains, maintains, develops, and programs the Park to support the well-being of all New Yorkers. The Park offers miles of waterfront pathways, almost nine acres of wetlands, an urban farm, a track-and-field stadium, a golf center, a 20-court tennis center, and over 60 new playing fields, as well as the Harlem River Event Site. For more information, please visit http://www.randallsisland.org.

Contacts for RIPA:

Jennifer Wainwright
Randall’s Island Park Alliance
212-830-7719
[email protected]

Melissa Sheer
Kent Place Communications, LLC
[email protected]
917-690-2199

Source: Randall's Island Park Alliance