Big Wheels Turning For City Harvest

Jilly Stephens and David Patrick Columbia at City Harvest's On Your Plate Lunch, May 13, 2009

The pressure is on to feed New Yorkers: City Harvest says 34% of New Yorkers have had to choose between spending their money on food or rent.

City Harvest will distribute 24 million pounds of food this year to more than 600 food programs in New York City, 60% of it fresh produce. Yet that amount will not keep up with the demand.

“More than half the agencies that receive food from City Harvest have been rationing their food supplies,” said the executive director of City Harvest, Jilly Stephens at the organization’s annual spring luncheon on Wednesday. Some have closed their doors at times, others have turned people away, others have reduced the amount of food they distribute to each person.

In this context, the On Your Plate luncheon at the Metropolitan Club raised $250,000. The honoree, New York Social Diary’s David Patrick Columbia, proved a formidable draw.

Mr. Columbia appreciates that people on the charity event circuit, however distant they seem from the lives of New York’s hungry, have the ability to help them. “When we don’t have food, we don’t have life,” Mr. Columbia said. “We can’t have a strong community without City Harvest.”

Jeffrey Hirsch, David Patrick Columbia's business partner in New York Social Diary, and City Harvest truck driver Haisel Vasquez

"That was a nice speech," said City Harvest truck driver Haisel Vasquez, before sharing some of his experiences on the job. "The lines of people waiting for food are getting and longer," Mr. Vasquez said.

	Is it the next status symbol for the boys of St. Bernard's? The City Harvest toy truck.

One of the daily reminders of City Harvest’s work is the fleet of City Harvest trucks, which pick up and distribute food. So it made sense that Mr. Columbia received a toy version of the truck as his award. “I love toy trucks,” he said. “My cleaning lady doesn’t like them because I have so many of them.”

“I want one for my son!” a guest responded, which makes us speculate this toy will become the ultimate do-good status symbol in the halls of Collegiate and St. Bernard’s. (A limited number of toy trucks are available by making a donation to City Harvest and mentioning you read about it here.)