City Harvest Is a Lifeline for Food Insecure New Yorkers
Help raise funds by eating with Geoffrey Zakarian, Eric Ripert, and many more
New York City is one of the world’s epicenters for finance, the arts, and culinary excellence. It’s also one of the most expensive cities to live in, with many people struggling to pay rent and feed their families.
For four decades, City Harvest has helped people in New York City help get the food they need. According to its website, a staggering 1.5 million New Yorkers struggle to put food on the table. That’s where City Harvest steps in.
The organization rescues and delivers more than 200,000 pounds of food each day, utilizing its fleet of 23 refrigerated trucks, which pick up food from farms, restaurants, and grocers seven days a week. That food is delivered free of charge to nearly 400 soup kitchens, food pantries, and other community food programs. Over the organization’s 40 years, it has rescued and delivered a staggering one billion pounds of food to New Yorkers in need.
One of City Harvest’s largest fundraisers is its annual tasting event, BID. For the past three years, the event, which sees New York’s most lauded chefs and restaurants gathering to raise funds, was postponed due to the global pandemic.
Now, City Harvest’s BID has returned after its hiatus with a “Through the Looking Glass” theme.
On Tuesday, October 18, more than 50 of New York’s finest chefs, best restaurants, and most talented mixologists will converge on New York City’s the Glasshouse for the event.
Participating restaurants include Aquavit, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Bruno’s Bakery, Butcher Bar, Cadence, Casa Dani, Chinese Tuxedo, Ci Siamo, Corner Bar, Cote Korean Steakhouse, Craft, Don Angie, Ed's Lobster Bar, Eitan Productions, Ernesto's, Estiatorio Milos, Grand Banks, Gupshup, Hill Country Barbecue Market, Katsuya, l'Abeille, Le Bernardin, Mari, Melba's Restaurant, Mercado Little Spain, Mexology, MO Lounge at Mandarin Oriental, Morso, Muddling Memories, Nami Nori, Nudibranch, One White Street, Oysters XO, Perrine NYC, Piggyback by Pig & Khao, PLNT Burger, Portale Restaurant, Porter House Bar and Grill, Rao’s, Rezdôra, Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, Scampi, Semma, Sugar Hill Creamery, the Cup Bearer, the Fulton, Ukraine Caviar, Veranda Soho, Veselka, Wayan, Win Son, Zola Bakes, and more.
Celebrity chefs at the event read like a “Who’s Who” of the culinary industry with Geoffrey Zakarian, Eric Ripert, Tom Colicchio, Melba Wilson, Emma Bengtsson, Alfred Portale, Ron Ben-Israel, Cedric Vongerichten, and Leah Cohen some of the toques attending.
Geoffrey Zakarian, a City Harvest board member and chair of the City Harvest Food Council, will also host a special Wonderland-themed VIP lounge that includes gourmet tastings, luxury purveyors, and specialty cocktails. Zakarian says of the evening, “Every dollar we raise is going to help feed our neighbors in need.”
Tickets for the City Harvest BID start at $1,000 per person (which helps feed 2,857 New Yorkers in need for a day) all the way up to a $100,000 Wonderland Bungalow Package, where 30 people can eat, drink, and have access to a private bungalow with a personal bar. Anyone who purchases that Wonderland Bungalow will allow City Harvest to provide over a quarter of a million meals — something worthy of a toast.
Purchase tickets at cityharvest.org.