Now in its fifth year, Montefiore Einstein associates donated and helped distribute 70,000 pounds of fresh produce to families across eight locations in the Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, and Orange counties to kick off the holiday season.

The Holiday Fresh Produce Distribution Initiative partnered with community-based organizations, faith-based groups and elected officials. The result was families taking home approximately 10 pounds of produce, accompanied by multilingual recipe cards to help families transform the fresh ingredients into wholesome, culturally relevant meals.

"Inadequate access to healthy food affects everything from chronic disease management to childhood development,” said Marcos Crespo, senior vice president, Community Affairs, Montefiore Einstein. “Through this initiative, we are taking a preventive approach to healthcare by ensuring families have access to nutritious foods and recipes that we hope can aid in instilling healthy habits that become part of daily life.”

New food distribution locations like Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s campus to St. Helena’s Church in Parkchester, complemented existing locations like Project BRAVO, Montefiore’s onsite food pantry. Additionally, representatives from the Health, Education, and Research Occupations High School (H.E.R.O), and the NYPD Options program collected produce bags at Lehman College for distribution to the communities they serve.

The produce, supplied by the family-owned Westchester Produce at Hunts Point Food Market, featured an assortment of nutrient-rich vegetables such as carrots and celery, alongside culturally cherished ingredients like bok choy, plantains, yucca, and collard greens.

Partnering Together to Make a Profound Impact

“Over the past few years, our organization and Vishnu Mandir, Hindu Temple has had the privilege of partnering with this program, receiving nutritious vegetables and healthy recipes that has positively impacted families in our community. Access to healthy, fresh options is vital, not only for empowering our neighbors to make healthier choices but also for enabling us to bless other community partners with food for their plates,” said Bharati Sukul Kemraj, founder of The Bharati Foundation.

"What started as a simple food distribution has evolved into a comprehensive community health movement. We're not just providing healthy food – we're strengthening community bonds and supporting healthier lifestyles that honor cultural traditions,” said Tara Tomlinson, director, Advancement Initiative, Lehman College, who has overseen the site’s distribution for five years.

Support and volunteers from Affinity by Molina Healthcare; Lehman College, City University of New York; HealthFirst, and others were also instrumental in event successes. For more information about Montefiore Einstein's Healthy Holiday Initiative, visit montefioreeinstein.org/community or email communityaffairs@montefiore.org.