Greater Chinatown Community Association (GCCA) Board members had just engaged a new Executive Director and were in the process of determining how GCCA could best serve the community when the COVID-19 pandemic struck New York City. Only ‘essential workers’ were allowed to go to work; everyone one else was in lock down.
Restaurants were closing and essential workers were quickly running out of options for buying lunch- time food.
GCCA didn’t skip a beat. To quickly raise money to buy food for essential workers, GCCA established a GoFundMe page with the theme MealMatch for Frontliners. Money raised was matched by GCCA and used to buy meals from local restaurants for essential workers at the:
FDNY EMS Battalion #4
NYPD 5th Precinct
NYU Langone Health, Clinical Microbiology-Immunology Laboratory
NYU Langone Health, Receiving Department
NYP/Weill Cornell Burn ICU Center
NYPD 911 Call Center in Brooklyn
FDNY EMS Battalion #8
Lenox Hill Hospital, Microbiology Department
VA Hospital, Microbiology Laboratory
Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation
GCCA also partnered with Tai Luk Merchants and Rethink Food NYC to deliver 2,000 meals to home-bound seniors in NYC Chinatown. Genki Forest International donated the zero-sugar beverages delivered with each hot meal. And, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory donated gift cards that were given by GCCA to the officers and administrators of the NYPD Fifth Precinct.
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July 15, 2020. Hot meals prepared by Asia Roma of Chinatown and Zero-sugar beverages donated by Genki Forest International were delivered by GCCA to the Microbiology Department of Lenox Hill Hospital.
June 10, 2020. Hot meals (penne primavera and chicken piccata with broccoli and mashed potatoes) prepared by Asia Roma of Chinatown and Zero-sugar beverages donated by Genki Forest International were delivered by GCCA to FDNY EMS Battalion #8.
May 27, 2020. 150 gourmet sandwiches (made by DiPalo’s of Little Italy) and no-cal teas and sparkling water donated by Genko Forest were delivered the NYPD 911 Call Center in Brooklyn today!
May 20, 2020. 50 meals purchased by GCCA from Kong Sihk Tong restaurant and Genki Forest-donated teas were delivered to the NYP/Weil Cornell Burn ICU Center for the day and night-shift workers.
May 15, 2020. 40 meals purchased by GCCA from Kong Sihk Tong restaurant were delivered to the folks in the Receiving Department of NYU Langone Health.
May 8, 2020. Fish, chicken and beef dishes, along with Genki Forest teas, were delivered to the 60-person staff of NYU Langone Health Clinical Microbiology-Immunology Laboratory.
April 29, 2020. Italian sandwiches were donated by Di Palo’s, Little Italy, NYC to GCCA for the brave men and women of FDNY EMS Battalion #4. Zero sugar beverages were donated by Genki Forest International.