By DAVID GREENE
SURROUNDED BY FAMILY members, friends and volunteers, Jasmine Pineda (center) hosts her own food giveaway on East 148th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue in the South Bronx on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
Photo by David Greene
Local elected officials, nonprofits, food pantries, and regular individuals donated even more cash, food and time than usual this year to host various turkey giveaways and Thanksgiving dinners for Bronxites following the recent federal government shutdown which, as reported, had a marked impact on food insecurity in the borough.
In Mott Haven, Bishop Boyde Singletary, the executive pastor and co-founder of the Alpha & Omega Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, holds a weekly food distribution at The People’s Park on East 141st Street, where he is often joined by his mother, pastor and co-founder, Dr. Cheryl Singletary.
On Saturday, Nov. 22, volunteers from the church distributed 100 turkeys. The group also distributed food to 40 families of military veterans and 40 people who are currently homeless. The following day, the Alpha & Omega Church held its 5th Annual Vets-Giving Event held at the corner of East 149th Street and Third Avenue.
Bishop Singletary said of the veterans’ event, “We will be donating food to veterans and their families, so they have a complete and proper Thanksgiving dinner.” On the day, volunteers distributed 144 meals that consisted of Halal chicken with rice, pork with vegetables and rice, or steak with rice and carrots, a box of stuffing, corn, onions and potatoes, as well as water and soda.
The bishop pointed out that many of the veterans in attendance are also homeless. At the same time, a block south of the Vets-Giving event, a smaller crowd gathered at the corner of East 148th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue also in Mott Haven, where Jasmine Pineda was with a handful of friends, family members, and volunteers busily distributing holiday meals and clothing to strangers.
Pineda told Norwood News, “I have been doing this for a few years now, I usually do this on 34th Street [in Manhattan]. I just print a flyer and ask people to donate trays of food and volunteer or send me money.” With the money, Pineda said she purchases more food and the volunteers help to distribute it.
Asked why she chose the Mott Haven streets in The Bronx this year, Pineda explained, “I grew up around here.” She added, “The other day I saw that there were a lot of homeless people in the area and a lot of people doing drugs, so this year, I decided to not do it on 34th Street by Penn Station and do it here where I’m from.” Pineda said she hoped to distribute 150 meals and 100 bags of toiletries, winter jackets and clothing for those in need.
On Nov. 25, at the American Albanian Open Hand Association (AAOHA) food pantry located on Lydig and Holland Avenues in Pelham Parkway, AAOHA founder Aleksander Nilaj expected between 800 to 1,000 people, and was elated when Sharing Excess called at the last minute and asked if he could take a truck of donated food.
VOLUNTEERS FROM THE Alpha & Omega Church in Mott Haven distribute food during their 5th Annual Vets-Giving Event held on the corner of East 149th Street and Third Avenue on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
Photo by David Greene
“Today, we were not expecting to receive anything and they called and asked, ‘Can you accept a truck?’ and I said, ‘Yes, thank you!’,” Nilaj said. He was joined by a team led by volunteer supervisor Oscar Gildemister who comes from the Light of Truth Mennonite Church on Soundview Avenue. The team distributed and prepared meals for the crowds for the next two days.
Robert, a resident of Pelham Parkway, was asked if this was his first time visiting Open Hand. “For Thanksgiving, it’s my first time, but I was coming here for food during the week on Thursdays, and they told me they may have turkeys today,” he said. Asked how the food helps, Robert said, “It helps a lot because the budget is tightening these days, right? So, it helps feed the kids and everything.”
After the food truck from Sharing Excess arrived and was unloaded, its driver, Jayson, a former Bronxite now living in Stanford, Connecticut, was asked about his employer. “We’re a nonprofit organization,” he said. “We help the schools, churches, pantries, and those in need, and we’re based out of the Hunts Point Produce Market.”
On this run, Jayson delivered large pallets of potatoes, greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Asked how he feels delivering food to those in need, Jayson said, “I love my job 365 days a year. It doesn’t matter, the holiday, to me; I love what I do. This is my favorite thing all day, literally. I love doing this.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 26, Open Hand was expecting over 500 people who could choose to grab a meal or two and go or have a meal sitting on several benches in the back of the pantry. Nilaj said that all of the day’s meals came from a donation made by Councilmember Kristy Marmorato (C.D. 13.) Nilaj also wanted to thank a group known only as “Kenny and his brothers,” who Nilaj said had helped keep their doors open.
He explained that the anonymous brothers had donated money to pay Open Hand’s rent for the last several months. Asked if Open Hand had seen a decrease in donations recently, Nilaj said, “Yes, we’re having trouble with donation[s]. We are also having trouble getting money from the City. We haven’t gotten money from the City yet.”
After having a meal at Open Hand, Salina, a second resident of Pelham Parkway, said, “The food was so good and healthy and they give you such big portions. This was the first time I’ve been here for Thanksgiving. I just finished eating and this is the plate for my dear old aunt who I’m taking care of. She didn’t want to come outside but I’ve got her back. I’ll bring it to her.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Marmorato stopped by at Open Hand as volunteers were seen busily serving the large crowd. She told Norwood News, “I love being a part of the community, especially on Lydig Avenue. I love partnering with Alek and Albanian Open Hand because they do such amazing work. They really do get the services and the food out to the people who really need it in the community, and I’m always here to support Alek.”
Marmorato said she arrived at Open Hand after stopping off at Christopher Columbus High School in Allerton where she said she presented a $4 million check that will be used to start a reconstruction project of the school’s athletic field.
A LARGE CROWD waits in line for a free Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14) inside St. James Park on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Photo by David Greene
Meanwhile, on Nov. 26, at Part of The Solution (POTS), a soup kitchen and food pantry located on Webster Avenue in Bedford Park, director of programs, Jack Marth, said, “A busy week, yeah……lots of stuff coming in, going out. It’s been a difficult month with the suspension of SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) earlier in the month, but even before that, the need was great and like our name, we’re just part of the solution. We hope at least this Thanksgiving people have enough to have a celebration.”
Asked if donations had been keeping up with demand this year, Marth said, “Yeah, we’re getting a good amount of extra donations beyond what we would usually get in just a normal month.” He added, “We’re highly dependent on volunteers so if anybody reads this, please go to our website and you can sign up to be a volunteer. We’re always looking for volunteers.”
For about the last four decades, POTS has sponsored an annual Thanksgiving dinner at Our Lady of Refuge Church on East 196th Street and Briggs Avenue in Fordham Manor on Thanksgiving Day. However, this year, the annual dinner, prepared and served by the 29th year by volunteers from the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY, was held at St. Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church on the Grand Concourse in Bedford Park.
At that dinner, held this year on Thursday, Nov. 27, David Tone of the Church of the Resurrection explained that the annual Thanksgiving event averages about 1,000 visitors. He said many would sit down for dinner and others would take the meal home.
Of POTS, Tone said, “Their kitchen closes twice a year, on Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s when these folks (volunteers from the Church of the Resurrection) all step up and volunteer to help cover and offer a special meal for Thanksgiving and Christmas on those two days, so the people at POTS can get at least two days off.”
Tone mentioned that Our Lady of Refuge School, located at 2708 Briggs Avenue, had closed, adding, “So, we lost our venue.” He said that Father Dan at St. Philip Neri had spent time at the Church of the Resurrection, and the church offered to host the dinner.
After his meal, Bedford Park resident Steven said, “They made a great meal for Thanksgiving with extras to take home.” He added that he would bring a takeaway meal to a friend. “They gave me a nice Thanksgiving meal that makes me feel good,” he said. “It’s just wonderful, a wonderful time with great people, and the people from the church are wonderful.”
AT A THANKSGIVING dinner held Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025 hosted by the Albanian American Open Hand Association are Aleksander Nilaj (front, 3rd from right) City Councilmember Kristy Marmorato (C.D. 13, front, 2nd from right) and volunteers.
Photo by David Greene
Meanwhile, while Our Lady of Refuge School has apparently closed, the doors to its cafeteria were not and a few dozen people were seen sitting down or waiting in line for a meal. A member of the church who declined to be identified said of the meals being distributed, “This is for the people in the neighborhood.” The church member explained that some food donated to the church was sent over to St. Philip Neri, while Our Lady of Refuge parishioner Roy Garcia, who owns a catering business, had his staff prepare and serve this year’s Thanksgiving meal.
The church member was asked about the school’s closing. “The parish had the school, and then the Archdiocese [of New York] had the school for the last 15 years. It belonged to the diocese, the school, not the parish, and so they left and now, we’re hoping to get a rental to help the parish, like a charter school, hopefully.”
As he served meals to residents, Garcia, owner of The Cooking Team on the Grand Concourse, told Norwood News, “The reason why I did this is because I felt thankful and I have been very fortunate this year. God blessed me a lot, so I want to be able to do something nice for everybody.” Garcia said he hopes to return next year to continue the new tradition.
Other turkey giveaways were hosted by several elected officials, including one in St. James Park in Fordham Manor sponsored by Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14). Click here, here, and here for more of our Thanksgiving coverage.