GrowNYC + Uptown Grand Central partner together to bring our neighborhood an affordable CSA bag…read moreeach week. It's a tiered price, ranging $14-20. We pay $20 and it's an amazing deal still. They are out there, really, Carey is every week, rain, shine or snowstorm. You don't have to subscribe to a whole season so it's very flexible. You can also get fresh eggs, bread, baked goodies and other pantry necessities each week. They're practicing good covid safety with distanced line spacing and masks and gloves for all the workers. In pre-covid times they also had composting. That's on hold for now. An incredible non-profit to donate to as well!

People In Need is a local 501 C3 non-profit organization run by a woman named Nowshin Ali. Nowshin…read moreand her non-profit's contributions have been written about by several publications including the New Yorker Magazine and the Brooklyner newspaper. Before the pandemic, they offered a pay what you can afford to pay after school program for local elementary school age children most of whose parents were immigrants. They also offered a women's support group to help immigrant women adapt to American culture and sponsored several food and clothing drives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been raising money to purchase groceries and essential items which their volunteers have been distributing to over 300 area families and seniors. What amazes me is that they operate with 100% volunteers so when you donate to their COVID-19 fundraiser (https://www.gofundme.com/f/1xg92uczw0?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na%20share-sheet&rcid=b136902da5a746e48e0da1049d189714&fbclid=IwAR1e0DPHjbWhstAO9m0O5z-y6Sx2rRjP3GixrzHELvgx3fyhqT8LaABiyiw), 100% of your money is used to help those in need!

The main staff at this pantry are very rude to the customers, they speak down to them and rush…read morethem. You are treated like a herd of animals rather than humans. Although they do sometimes have a vast amount of food, they are not careful with distribution, and some get plenty and other get none. I witnessed a whole bin full of bagged carrots which were set out for garbage. If these were distributed properly, they would not have so much waste. They are favorable to their own friends and family and treat others like paupers begging for what they are legally allowed to from the government. With the right staff, or staff training, this could be a very nice place for the community.

I applied to this place for volunteer as a high school student. When asked for an art portfolio,…read morethey took ownership of my work. I got no follow-up whatsover, and when I emailed them about it, they acted oblivious to it and still didn't give it back. Make sure to do your research before applying to volunteer/work for them!

Everyone at reaching out community are great. I've been going there for many many years and I am…read morevery grateful for them. They have been there for me and my son for years and I can't thank them enough.

Great, professional and very vibrant community center. I found out about this place because every…read moreyear they provide a free tax preparation service. This is the second year I've had it done with them. It was done very quickly, efficiently, and in a very thorough manner. They got back to me right away. I haven't used any of their other social services. I do know that they're a food pantry. They also help people with services like food stamps, housing, and do a lot of community outreach. Their staff are courteous, focused, very welcoming, knowledgeable, and efficient. My experience with this organization has been very positive and I will definitely go back for tax prep next year.

But for the grace of God go any of us. The blood red doors, blood red, it's said, for a reason…read more The firm I joined early two years back now volunteers. That meant a great deal to me but I never had found the time to go. Today I found that time. One reason I went was in direct response to the SNAP benefits cruel debacle. This, I thought was better than marching - walking beside and offering a helping hand. Mercy, empathy and compassion are the marrow in the national spine - the international backbone. What was to have been an act of personal protest morphed into something unexpectedly different. We've become an outwardly more calloused land of late, where selfishness and insensitivity are worn like badges of honor. They're not; they're a stain on our image to the world - worse: to ourselves. I didn't do much day except hand out chips and offer supportive subtle enthusiasm. No one will remember me nor should they - I was fortunate enough to arrive and depart as a day tripper. But it's the faces that haunted me. You never knew what lead each man and woman there or what their fate would ultimately be. Yet here we were. Crossing fates in the same hall. And there was this unspeakably overwhelming sense as nearly two hundred hungry souls filed by us as we doled out chips and hot dogs and apples that we the dilettantes were happy to do. I felt we stood at the edge of a vast sea of unknowable suffering - that our few hours were a drop of living kindness, as the Buddhists call it, in this sea that's always threatened to drown the world. I can't put my finger on this sense of today except to say I'll return to learn perhaps a greater understanding. And the staff. They reminded me of that humbled awe I felt for 9/11 and covid first responders. I may not change a single life for the better except mine handing out child but I know that offering a helping hand to those struggling in need is what defines humanity and defies inhumanity. I'm grateful I experienced this. And even catching the glimpse of so many as they passed was a bracing wake up call to what's really going on. Thank you.

Very respectable here ! Very clean and honest people working here! They have 3 feeding times listed…read moreand dinner is at 5:30 pm , they have table seating inside ..

I used to volunteer here in the past with my high school and then one more time with my alma mater…read more So when I wanted to do some volunteering again this past saturday, this was the first place I thought of. My group was assigned to the pasta station. It was pretty straightforward and simple. The CFB employees were helpful and very nice. Everything was easygoing, and they made sure we completed everything on time. It's honestly always been a good experience every time I've come here. The work that they do is very inspiring. I am grateful to have some small part in helping with the food insecurity in NJ. I would definitely recommend volunteering here.

Came early to unload my truck. There were a few trucks in front of me waiting in two lines, so I…read morechose one of them. After a while, when it was almost my turn, a guy--he said his name was John--came up to me and told me I couldn't wait in the left line because it was only for their company trucks. He said I had to move to the right line and go all the way back to the end. I tried talking to the guy inside the building, showed them that I was first on their check-in list, tried explaining it to John, but they didn't care. They saw me waiting in the left line since I arrived, but nobody told me anything until it was almost my turn.