As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity has grown dramatically this year, with an estimated two million city residents now at risk of going hungry. In response, Columbia has launched an effort to heighten awareness of the problem, raise funds, and deploy resources to help feed hungry families in Upper Manhattan. The new Columbia Neighbors Food Relief Fund, for example, has since the spring raised more than $100,000 to support local organizations that provide food relief, including the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH), Cathedral Community Cares, Holyrood Church, Uplift NYC, Cornerstone, and People Against Landlord Abuse and Tenant Exploitation (PA’LANTE). Columbia Dining, meanwhile, prepared one thousand meals per day for local residents over the summer.
