(Grand Street BID)
Dec. 2, 2019 By Allie Griffin
More than a dozen businesses along Grand Street in Williamsburg are hosting a food drive to support families in the community during the holiday season.
A group of local shops and restaurants are collecting donations of non-perishable food items from Dec. 1 through Dec. 19 as part of the Grand Street BID’s third annual Grand Street Holiday Food Drive.
The food will be donated to families in the St. John the Evangelist food pantry program, located at 195 Maujer St. It will help feed 150 to 200 weekly recipients of the parish’s hot meal program and help stock its food pantry, which serves 20 to 30 families from the neighborhood.
Food donations can be dropped into holiday-wrapped collection boxes at the participating businesses listed below.
- Burnside (506 Grand Street)
- Carneval (507 Grand Street)
- The Laundry Taxi (578 Grand Street)
- Empire Lock (648 Grand Street)
- Eleva Coffee (649 Grand Street)
- The Sandwich Shop (658 Grand Street)
- Brooklyn Dental Professionals (700 Grand Street)
- Los Primos Restaurant (704 Grand Street)
- Forum (717 Grand Street)
- Absolute Power Fitness (750 Grand Street)
- Bravo Supermarket (785 Grand Street)
- Z2A Repair (793 Grand Street)
- Groomers & Pomade (796 Grand Street)
Items in demand include canned vegetables, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, oatmeal, rice, beans, canned fish, baby formula and food, granola bars and raisins or other dried fruit. Also, pre-cooked meals or food that can be eaten without much heating or cooking required is helpful.
Perishable and pre-cooked foods will also be collected by the Grand Street BID at 246 Graham Ave. Community members can pick up a warm meal from any restaurant to both support a small business and feed a hungry family.
Over the last two years, the holiday food drive has collected and donated 850 pounds of food.
“Grand Street businesses were quick to join in, as always, when asked to participate this year,” said Grand Street BID Executive Director, Erin Piscopink. “We have countless small business owners here that care deeply about our community, and it always shows most when we have events like this.”
One of the participating businesses, Carneval — a recently opened restaurant located at 507 Grand St — is also hosting a toy drive, beginning Dec. 6 to help neighborhood families celebrate the holidays.
“We opened in August this year hoping to serve as a community meeting spot, and this food drive aligns perfectly with our mission to show love, pride, and loyalty for the neighborhood that raised us,” the owner of Carneval, Mike Cruz, said. “That’s why we’re also hosting a toy drive starting December 6th to help spread the cheer to all of our neighborhood’s families this season.”
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