This program (a version of which I first opened in my City Council district in 2012), established in partnership with senior centers and many local Council Members (this year including Chelsea & Clinton’s Corey Johnson and the Upper West Side’s Helen Rosenthal), allows seniors to purchase fresh, regionally grown fruit and vegetables for just $8 a bag. The process is simple: seniors pay for a bag a week in advance at a participating senior center, and pickup their produce the following week.
Seniors pay $8 for a bag containing five to six varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables – a retail value of $12 to $15. Orders are pay-as-you-go, one week ahead of each delivery date. Fresh Food for Seniors allows seniors to sign up for just one order at a time so that they can decide how much food they need, when they need it.
Produce is ordered through GrowNYC at wholesale prices from farmers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
All New Yorkers need as much access as possible to fresh, healthy, locally-sourced food. Access to fresh and local food for vulnerable and low-income populations is the most pressing food and nutrition issue facing New Yorkers today.
We’re excited to add new sites on the Upper East Side and Washington Heights to our Fresh Food for Seniors program this year, in addition to the neighborhoods from Northern Manhattan to the West Village to Roosevelt Island.
Sign-ups start the week of July 1, 2019 and the full season’s delivery dates are provided below:
Upper West Side
In partnership with Council Member Helen Rosenthal and GrowNYC
2019 Delivery Dates: July 10, July 24, August 7, August 21, September 4, September 18, October 2, October 16, October 30, and November 13
- Goddard Riverside Senior Center (212-873-6600)
- Sign up Mondays and Tuesdays, 1pm-3pm, the week before pick-up.
- JASA: Club 76 (212-712-0170)
- Project Find: Hamilton House (212-874-0300)
- NCJW Council Lifetime Learning (212-687-5030)
- Bloomingdale Aging in Place (212-842-8831)
- DOROT (212-769-2850)
- Goddard Riverside: NORC (212-665-3853)
- JASA NORC: St. Martin’s Tower (646-539-2292)
- Project Find: Clinton Senior Center (212-757-2026)
- Project Open at Lincoln Towers (212-721-8708)
Upper East Side:
In partnership with GrowNYC and The Doe Fund
2019 Delivery Dates: July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22, September 5, September 19, October 3, October 17, October 31, and November 14
- Stanley Isaacs Senior Center (212-360-7620)
- 92nd Street Y Himan Brown Senior Program (212-415-5633)
Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and West Village
In partnership with Council Speaker Corey Johnson and GrowNYC
2019 Delivery Dates: July 17, July 31, August 14, August 28, September 11, September 25, October 9, October 23, and November 6
- Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s District Office (212-564-7757)
- Sign up Mondays and Tuesdays the week before pick-up.
- Hudson Guild NORC (212-760-9800)
- SAGE Center: Midtown (646-576-8669)
- VISIONS (646-486-4444)
- Encore Senior Center (212-581-2910)
- Penn South Program for Seniors (212-243-3670)
West Village
In partnership with Council Speaker Corey Johnson and GrowNYC
2019 Delivery Dates: July 17, July 31, August 14, August 28, September 11, September 25, October 9, October 23, and November 6
- West Village Houses (212-255-2035)
- Greenwich House (212-242-4140)
Northern Manhattan, Washington Heights, and Inwood
In partnership with GrowNYC and The Doe Fund
2019 Delivery Dates: July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22, September 5, September 19, October 3, October 17, October 31, and November 14
- Manhattan Borough President Northern Manhattan Office (212-531-1609)
- Sign-up Mondays through Wednesdays, 10am-4pm, the week before pick-up.
- Central Harlem Senior Citizens’ Center: Kennedy (212-926-4871)
- Central Harlem Senior Citizens’ Center: St. Nicholas (646-678-4451)
- Morningside Retirement & Health Services NORC (212-666-4000)
- Center for Adults Living Well at the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood (212-569-6200)
Roosevelt Island
In partnership with GrowNYC and the Roosevelt Island Senior Center, a program of Carter Burden Network and the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association
Delivery Dates: July 17, July 31, August 14, August 28, September 11, September 25, October 9, October 23, and November 6
- Roosevelt Island Senior Center (212-980-1888)
Downtown Manhattan
In partnership with New York City Council Member Margaret Chin, Battery Park City Authority, Downtown Alliance and GrowNYC
Delivery Dates: August 27, September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, & November 5.
- Battery Park City Authority (212-945-7233, sign-ups Tuesdays from 1:00-5:00 pm)
- St. Margaret’s House (212-766-8122, sign-ups Tuesdays from 1:00-4:00 pm)
- Southbridge Towers (212-267-6190)
Murray Hill/Kip’s Bay
Delivery Dates: September 25, October 9, October 23, & November 6
- Stein Senior Center (646-395-8083, sign-ups Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00 am)
