The Relief Access Program for the Bronx (RAP4Bronx): To Our Community, With Love

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By EVA HATZAKI

The Relief Access Program for the Bronx (RAP4Bronx) was launched on April 1, 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic with a mission to collect and donate meals, food and essential supplies to frontline workers, senior citizens, the homeless and vulnerable residents in the Bronx and throughout New York City.

In just ten weeks after the first delivery of 100 boxed meals donated by Great Performances to POTS soup kitchen, the RAP4Bronx has grown to be a substantial operator in the New York City food relief space.

Initiative and support

It began in mid-March, when York Studios, a Bronx-based film and television production company, initiated the program and partnered with Andromeda Advantage which provided its building facilities in Long Island City, a fleet of vehicles, along with a task-force of managers, laborers and volunteers to organize and run the RAP4Bronx.

While community based organizations were reaching their limits by an overnight multiplication of demand and simultaneous reduction of volunteers, the private sector had available resources resulting from the shutdown of all but the most essential businesses.

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As of today, RAP4Bronx has:

• Purchased, packed and delivered 72,000+ meals of pantry items
• Distributed 40,000+ cooked meals in partnership with World Central Kitchen
• Distributed 3,000+ units of PPE for frontline workers
• Distributed 1,000+ household boxes of food to ReadNYC families via United Way
• Distributed 860 boxed meals for the department of Veterans Affairs with NYPD
• On-boarded 150+ volunteers through New York Cares
• Reached 1,400 households weekly with produce from City Harvest

A growing coalition

Powered by The Skyline Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, RAP4Bronx began building a coalition of partners which includes food donor City Harvest (fresh produce boxes for 1,400 households weekly), volunteer resource New York Cares (more than 150 volunteers on-boarded), space donor Urban Edge Properties, Bronx Community District 9, funder New York City Special Riggers Association and the Bronx Private Industry Council.