New York Food for New York Families

New York Common Pantry has been selected to participate in the New York Food for New York Families (NYFNYF) program!

This program enables us to create partnerships to support local and traditionally disadvantaged farmers and food producers by purchasing their food. NYCP will use this food to feed our guests, bringing a whole new meaning to “farm-to-table” for the communities we serve. New York State is providing more than $40 million to 102 organizations across the state to support this initiative.

See below for some of the farmers and food producers we are supporting.

Starrlight Pizza

New York Common Pantry is excited to offer its guest the delicious breads made by Starrlight Pizza. Starrlight Pizza was created in 2021 as a micro-bakery based in Bushwick, Brooklyn with the goal of providing their local community with organic, sustainably made sourdough bread. After getting their start at local farmers’ markets and grocery stores, owner and founder Emanuel Ruffler set up a commercial bakery on the ground floor of his Bushwick home. The naturally leavened bread is made from local grain milled within 200 miles of their bakery and mostly grown in NY State. It gives their bread the flavor of their very local ecosystem and terroir. Since its founding, Starrlight Pizza has been grounded in community and sustainability — they are 100% solar powered! “Knowing that our bread satisfies a fundamental need for sustainably-produced, local and delicious bread is incredibly rewarding to us,” said Emanual.

Sweet Spice & Honey, Halal Baked Goods

Sweet Spice & Honey (SS&H) has been a purveyor of artisanal halal baked goods since 2009. Owner and baker, Amatullah Jabriel, began the business making two varieties of bread; the selection has grown to include 25 sweet and savory baked goods and she is ever expanding its menu of offered items. All SS&H baked goods are made from locally-sourced ingredients from the NY Tri-state area, are high-quality ingredients, are traceable having a one-country origin for ingredients that are not local, and never include high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, colorants or flavors. Their baked goods have been sold in several high-end specialty food stores and SS&H has been resident baker to six farmers markets in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. They currently can be found at the Bushwick Farmers Market in Brooklyn. NYCP is proud to offer their delicious breads to our Choice Pantry guests to savor. “I want the women coming here to know that these were baked with love and with every bite to know ‘they are enough,'” says Amatullah.

Hudson Harvest

Hudson Harvest is a local food distributor based in New York’s Hudson Valley. Since 2011, they have delivered farm transparent local food throughout the Northeast to wholesale customers, including restaurants, catering companies, cafes, grocery stores, schools, and institutions, as well as directly to individuals and families, serving customers from Saratoga to Central New Jersey. They partner with more than 70 farmers, cheesemakers, butchers, and small food producers to offer the best local food.

The Grandpa Farm

For 15 years, The Trujillo Family worked the land in Chester, NY as laborers for other vegetable farms, while building their dream of owning their own farm.&nbsp Their dream — El Rancho del Abuelito or Grandpa’s Farm – opened in 2019. Their passion is to grow fresh produce for their community, working the land and having time for their family. The Grandpa Farm is providing fresh produce for New York Common Pantry through the NYFNYF program. Our first deliveries included Peppers, celery, jalapeños and cabbage. Owner, Elvia Trujillo says, “The NYFNYF program has helped us increase our production and improve our cash flow. Working with this program and New York Common Pantry has been a great experience.”