West Side Campaign Against Hunger

West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH)—one of the largest and most successful food pantries in New York City—provides emergency food assistance and supportive services for individuals and families facing food insecurity. We offer fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy in our supermarket-style pantry, where customers can choose the food that is best for them, thus serving our community with dignity. With a robust social service department, we connect customers to benefits and other community resources, and we offer a free, on-site job training program called Culinary Pathways. Our newest program and latest innovation to addressing hunger is our Mobile Market, which brings fresh, healthy food and support services directly to New York City neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and food insecurity.

Last year, we distributed over 1.5 million pounds of food—one-third of which was fresh fruits and vegetables. This amounted to 1.3 million meals for more than 11,300 unduplicated families. We also enrolled 586 families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), 357 in health insurance, and helped 196 people find jobs. We graduated 43 individuals from our Culinary Pathways Program—a 75% graduation rate—and 81% of graduates either continued their education or obtained employment.

By offering such a wide scope of services, West Side Campaign Against Hunger does more than feed the hungry—we work to address the root causes of hunger, and help to improve the health and wellbeing of the New York City community.

The three core values that drive all of WSCAH’s work are dignity, community, and choice.