Food relief non-profit Queens Together has partnered with Astoria’s Jamaican fusion deli Notable to feed a local Korean War veteran for at least six months.
Jonathan Forgash, who founded Queens Together during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide food relief while also uplifting local restaurants, has launched the organization’s “Feed a Veteran” program to help provide more personalized relief.
Forgash, through a number of local veteran’s programs, came into contact with the family of 96-year-old Korean War veteran James Osborne, who is of Caribbean descent and living in Springfield Gardens.
Forgash, who aims to provide “culturally appropriate” food relief through Queens Together, reached out to Notable owner Nick Green, who jumped at the chance to help. Notable and Queens Together now deliver enough food for seven dinners every week, with plans for the initiative to last at least six months.
“His family told us that he (Osborne) would love some Caribbean home cooking,” Forgash said. “So Nick at Notable was really able to tailor the menu to what he likes.”
Forgash believes that providing food that is relatable can provide a “meaningful” form of relief to individuals facing food insecurity.
“It is meaningful. It is connection. It is respecting people and what they consider nourishment.”
Green, meanwhile, said he loves dropping off food packages for Osborne every week, stating that the veteran is deeply appreciative of the program.
“That’s one thing I love about doing it,” Green said. “He’s very appreciative… I love to help out whichever way I can.”
Osborne, who was born in Montserrat, moved to the United States when he was about 17 and joined the Army soon after, serving in Korea in the early 1950s. His son James Jr. said he volunteered with the Department of Veteran Affairs for around 25 years, bringing meals to older veterans on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now that he is 96, however, he “needs help,” his son added.
“He’s like a kid in a candy store,” Osborne Jr. said of his father. “He’s just so grateful… He keeps telling me ‘for years I’ve been helping others but now I’m getting the help I need.’ He’s so happy about it.”
Osborne, who worked as a carpenter and a New York City bus driver after leaving the Army, is not a “picky eater,” according to his son. However, he has enjoyed eating Jamaican food since the program started in July, which is culturally similar to food served in Montserrat.
The pilot program is funded by Hydro-Quebec, which delivers clean energy to New York City via the Champlain Hudson Power Express between Montreal and Astoria.
Pete Rose, a senior director at Hydro-Quebec, said the company is keen to serve disadvantaged communities in New York City, noting that it has signed a 25-year contract with the city to deliver power to the Astoria Annex substation.
“Veterans agreed to serve us,” Rose said. “We should serve them when they’re back.”
Rose said the Feed a Veteran program aims to ensure that veterans receive food relief “with dignity.”
“We want to ensure that they get you know they get fed quality meals, and we’re really taking the time to understand their nutrition needs, what they like, what they want.”
Forgash, meanwhile, hopes that Notable’s involvement in the program will strike a chord with the local community.
“We want to promote restaurants like Notable,” Forgash said. “This is a restaurant in your neighborhood that serves veterans and families. This is the type of restaurant you should be spending your dollars at.”
Green offered to provide the food relief free of charge, but Forgash insists that participating restaurants receive some compensation for their service.
“We pay them. We want them to make some profit and recognition from this.”
The ongoing partnership between Queens Together and Notable is the second installment of the Feed a Veteran pilot program. Last year, the non-profit partnered with Fuzi Pasta in Fresh Meadows to provide food relief to 107-year-old Second World War veteran Horace Carattelli. The program continued until Carattelli’s death in March of this year.