Art for Aid turns donations into meals at 4th annual Food Justice & Action Fair

As the adage goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and at Art for Aid, your junk is their joy.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, the grassroots pop-up held its fourth annual Food Justice & Action Fair in their usual hangout of the Riverdale Temple parking lot, courtesy of the Riverdale Y.

Founded by Rick Feldman in 2015, Art for Aid was born out of a desire to help those suffering from a natural disaster that devastated a small Caribbean island back in 2010.

“The earthquake in Haiti happened and he wanted to help and that’s how he started his connection with the market,” Shira Silverman, Riverdale Y Sunday market manager, told The Press of Feldman and his endeavors.

Over time, Feldman began to adopt practices of other charitable trailblazers, like his boxes, modeled after the Penny Harvest, created by the nonprofit, Common Cents in 1991. The Penny Harvest joined forces with the New York City Department of Education where school children bring in and sort pennies to be donated for food, clothing and other necessities.

On Sunday, fair goers were given boxes to take home and fill with change, which they would return the following week at the Sunday market. There were also “Hunger Hurts” cards with a list of local groups accepting food and cash donations to help those in need.

According to a 2024 report by the New York State Department of Health, the Bronx suffers from the highest rate of food insecurity, with 39% of adults having limited or uncertain access to food.

At the Art for Aid donation table, Lowell Green accepted items that others could purchase, with 100% of the proceeds used to buy leftover food from the more than dozen vendors of the market, including Gonzalez Farms from Warwick, NY and vegan food merchant, Beyond Bussin’.

Feldman told The Press, he hopes to raise $225 each week to feed the hungry, not only at the food pantries, but also at the Waldo Sanctuary at 238th Street and Waldo Avenue. The former Manhattan University dorm was turned into a migrant shelter this summer, and the community has been supportive with donations.

The Friendly Fridge BX was also at the fair, doling out free to-go bowls of vegan soup, “so everyone can eat,” said the man with the ladle. What started as a way for neighbors to help feed each other in the greater Riverdale area during the COVID-19 pandemic, has grown into a full-scale operation that redirects tons of pounds of food from being wasted and onto the plates of hungry people.

Apart from Art for Aid, the Riverdale Y market also has two food pantries with food provided by Met Council – America’s largest Jewish nonprofit.

Beyond their fight in fighting hunger, the Riverdale Y and art for Aid pride themselves on the community they foster, something other farmer’s markets don’t necessarily do. At the farmer’s market on 14^th Street, bumping into a familiar face may be a moment of happenstance, but at the Riverdale Y Sunday market, it’s pretty much a guarantee.

“It really is all about community,” said Silverman, who rattled off a list of other market’s that don’t share in the same communal vibe.

Leah Werner was a testament to that. She used to live in Riverdale, but now lives in Morris Park. She still treks across the Bronx with her husband and small daughter to make the fair on Sundays.

“It’s nice to do local things and just support local businesses,” said Werner. “