Brooklyn Relief Kitchen Gets $2K Grant, In Need Of More Donations

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A volunteer organization set up to feed Brooklynites amid the coronavirus pandemic got a $2,500 boost from the Park Slope Civic Council last week.

The organization gave the grant to Andy and Piper Wandzilak, who started the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen at Old First Reformed Church over the summer, to help as the group ramps up for the holidays.

The Brooklyn Relief Kitchen has prepared thousands of hot meals from the church since starting in June and will likely continue to need support as the coronavirus crisis extends into next year, the Civic Council said.

"Since it appears likely that Covid-19 will be with us well into 2021, The Brooklyn Relief Kitchen’s services will continue to be needed to ameliorate food insecurity within our communities," the civic council said in an email to members.

"...We encourage our members, readers, and the Park Slope community to kindly chip in with financial support to enable the BRK to purchase food in bulk and continue their invaluable efforts in the community."

Volunteers have staffed the tent at Old First Reformed Church on Carroll Street every week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday since they first set up, according to the organization.

The hot meals are given to CHiPs Soup Kitchen and Camp Friendship, both in Park Slope; the Workers Justice Project; and the St. Marks United Methodist Church in Flatbush. The meals have particularly helped undocumented households who have been denied COVID-19 relief benefits, the civic council said.

Tax deductible financial donations can be made to The Old First Reformed Church, noting Brooklyn Relief Kitchen or BRK in the memo line and sent to the 729 Carroll St. address or dropped off, the organization said.

Brooklynites can also leave food items with the volunteers at the staffing tent. The most urgently needed items are canned tuna, fruit, beans and soups, peanut butter/jelly, dried fruit and nuts, shelf-stable milk, pasta, rice and grains flour and sugar baby food/formula, baby supplies and disinfectant products.

"Please use your social media and email to urge your friends and neighbors to support Andy and Piper and the many volunteers who have made the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen an organization we can all be proud of," the civic council said.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.