LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending the New York City Coalition Against
Hunger upon the occasion of its 2010 Swing Into Spring Benefit

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across New York State
are reflective of the concerned and dedicated efforts of those organiza-
tions and individuals who devote themselves to the welfare of the commu-
nity and its citizenry; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
the New York City Coalition Against Hunger upon the occasion of its 2010
Swing Into Spring Benefit held on Monday, May 3, 2010, at the Union
Square Ballroom, New York City, New York; and
WHEREAS, The New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) was
established in 1983 and represents the more than 1,200 charitable soup
kitchens and food pantries that exist in New York City, as well as the
1.4 million New Yorkers who do not have enough food; the Coalition is
committed to meeting the immediate food needs of low-income New Yorkers
while enacting innovative solutions to help them move beyond the soup
kitchen towards greater economic self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS, Throughout its distinguished history, the Coalition has
developed a national reputation for pioneering effective programs that
help emergency food agencies: build their internal capacities and
programming; advocate for improved governmental policies focusing on the
underlying causes of hunger; ensure that low-income families receive the
government nutrition and tax benefits to which they are entitled;
harmonize and coordinate services with each other; and develop the next
generation of anti-hunger movement leadership; besides helping these
agencies serve food in higher quality and quantities, these initiatives
also focus on reducing the long-term need for such emergency food
assistance; and
WHEREAS, The NYC Coalition Against Hunger currently leads and coordi-
nates ten anti-hunger programs; and
WHEREAS, The AmeriCorps*VISTA Project places developing leaders at
pantries and kitchens in all five boroughs of New York City; this
project provides day-to-day capacity building assistance to agency staff
to improve the professionalism of their agencies, organize cooperative
neighborhood networks to diversify and reduce duplication of local
social services, and effectively tackle social problems in their commu-
nities; and
WHEREAS, The AmeriCorps Direct Project assigns national service
participants in full-time or part-time service at pantries, kitchens,
and anti-poverty organizations throughout New York City; differing from
the VISTA Program that does capacity building activities, Direct members
perform direct-service tasks such as: sorting food, filling pantry bags,
preparing and serving meals at kitchens, building increased storage
facilities, unloading deliveries from the food bank, and doing the manu-
al work on a community garden; and
WHEREAS, The Benefits Access Program connects food pantry and soup
kitchen clients with key anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs, includ-
ing: Food Stamps; Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Child and Family
Health Plus; School Meals; After-School Snacks; Summer Meals; and the
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); and
WHEREAS, The Communications Initiative uses the mass media, the Inter-
net, blogs, newsletters, and other creative ways of message delivery to
inform New Yorkers about the hunger problem and concrete ways they can
help address it; NYCCAH's annual hunger survey results receive wide

public attention including media coverage from venues including THE NEW
YORK TIMES, "National Public Radio", "BBC News", "Bloomberg", and THE
DAILY NEWS; and
WHEREAS, The Emergency Food Action Center (EFAC) provides comprehen-
sive technical assistance to hundreds of kitchens and pantries each
year, free of cost, to help them strengthen their infrastructures in
order to provide more and better food, as well as to help their clients
move towards self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS, The Farm Fresh Produce Project is increasing the consumption
of fresh, New York State-grown produce in targeted neighborhoods, enabl-
ing low-income residents to obtain the produce for free and/or with
their food stamp benefits -- and enabling other residents to purchase
the produce at market rates; and
WHEREAS, The Interfaith Voices Against Hunger Program (IVAH) engages
religious and civic leaders, people of varied faiths, and hungry people
themselves in addressing hunger and advocating for intensified govern-
ment action to alleviate poverty; and
WHEREAS, The Policy Research and Development Project determines the
extent of -- and the causes of -- hunger in New York City and America
and proposes innovative yet practical ways to tackle the problem; NYCCAH
conducts extensive field research for its annual hunger survey, which is
the City's most comprehensive annual study of hunger; and
WHEREAS, The Technology Project enables kitchens and pantries to
better use computer hardware and software to feed more people, track
clients, conducts benefits outreach, improve nutrition, link clients to
jobs, and perform many other vital functions; and
WHEREAS, The Volunteer Matching Center places volunteers at kitchens
and pantries to help meet basic needs such as stocking shelves and serv-
ing customers; NYCCAH also recruits skilled volunteers to help kitchens
and pantries perform tasks essential to their program development, such
as fundraising, computer skills training, graphic design, and account-
ing; and
WHEREAS, The success of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger is
in direct correlation to the efforts of its leaders, members and staff,
whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by an impres-
sive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising standard
of excellence in all endeavors on behalf of the Coalition and the popu-
lation it serves; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
recognize the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, for its unwavering
commitment to the citizens of New York City, as it provides an uncompro-
mising standard of excellence in the delivery of superlative community
service; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when organiza-
tions of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the New York City Coalition Against Hunger upon the occasion of
its 2010 Swing Into Spring Benefit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.