PATCH: Emergency Warehouse For Bed-Stuy Food Pantry Extended Into 2021

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A temporary warehouse set up to help a Bed-Stuy food pantry’s overwhelming demand during the coronavirus crisis will extend into next year, the company leasing the space announced.

Broadway Stages, who first donated the Canarsie warehouse to The Campaign Against Hunger in May, said this week that they have extended the lease a second time as the nonprofit continues to look for a permanent distribution hub.

The extension will allow the organization to use the warehouse until March 2021 and comes after another extension in September kept the pantry there until November.

The warehouse has helped The Campaign Against Hunger, initially strained in the outbreak’s early days, deal with a nearly seven-fold increase in demand amid the coronavirus crisis.

“…The demand for food during the coronavirus has been overwhelming,” Broadway Stages President Gina Argento told Patch. “We are honored to team up with The Campaign Against Hunger and proud to play a part in making a positive impact in our community during this unprecedented time of need.”

The Canarsie warehouse — visited by Mayor Bill de Blasio — has become a high profile example of outreach amid the pandemic.

It was most recently honored by New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who visited on Nov. 11 to recognize Broadway Stages and TCAH with a proclamation from the office of the Governor. During the event, 8,000 meals donated by meal kit company HelloFresh were packed for distribution.

The Campaign Against Hunger will continue to search for a permanent space to takeover distribution when the lease with Broadway Stages expires. The nonprofit has told Patch they hope to work with the city to do so.

The organization serves around 14,000 families each week who hail from more than 100 ZIP codes across the city, Executive Director Melony Samuels said.