Help KRMH feed the hungry in your neighborhood

To the editor:

Compared with four years ago, grocery store prices are up about 20 percent, driven by the pandemic and global events.  Although “food at home” price increases have decelerated, wage growth is just starting to catch up, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. Many families are struggling to put enough food on the table. This situation is even more serious for people who are rent-burdened, unemployed, or living below the poverty line.

For Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Marble Hill Food and Hunger Project (KRHM,) addressing food insecurity has always been our mission. As the oldest food justice charity in the community, founded in 1980, we are an interfaith, grassroots 501(c)3 non-profit, consisting solely of volunteers. We serve the neighborhoods of Bronx Community Board 8 and part of Community Board 7, specifically Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Van Cortlandt Village, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, and Fieldston. We are proud to continue the work of our founder Dr. Mathilda Furman and our recent past President, Frances Segan, PhD, by helping those most in need in our communities.

In 2024, we co-sponsored the Marble Hill Food Pantry at St. Stephen’s Church, providing fresh produce to augment the nonperishable food distribution. The pantry supports about 275 families each month, including 75 seniors, many who are residents of the NYCHA housing project across the street. Each month, we also provide bags of nonperishable food to homebound seniors, delivered through the Riverdale YM-YWHA. This year we distributed nearly 450 bags.

Although we had significant accomplishments in 2024, it has been a challenging year. The number of families that we support through the St. Stephen’s food pantry has more than doubled since mid-2023, increasing from 125 to over 275; the cost of produce has continued to rise, while donations from individuals has declined. And due to lack of funds, we were forced to discontinue our grocery store gift card program, which in 2023, distributed more than 400, $50 gift cards to needy families, through our interfaith network, the Riverdale Y and refugee partners.

Our organization has been pushed to its financial limits, jeopardizing our ability to continue our programs. More than ever, we need donations to continue to provide food to our communities.

For all that have provided support to KRMH, we are grateful. If you care about people who are struggling and want to strengthen our communities, please consider making a donation to the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Marble Hill Food and Hunger project by contacting Luane Kohnke at lkoknke@msn.com.

Luane Kohnke