Uptown Food Pantry Doubles Its Hours To Meet Coronavirus Demand

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Even as the coronavirus pandemic doubles the number of people it serves each week, the CLOTH Food Pantry on West 159th Street has been "blessed" to stay stocked with food, Executive Director Yvonne Stennett said.

But, even so, the pandemic has created a new shortage — social-distancing tools.

"We're getting our food supply in, but we're running out of bags, masks for the volunteers and sanitary items, because you have to clean everything all the time," Stennett told Patch on Monday. "We have to be able to protect our volunteers."

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Like other food pantries across the city, the Community League of the Heights pantry has had to change the way it runs in the age of the pandemic.

That includes switching from appointment-only visits — where people can come in and pick out what they want — to packing up food items into bags and handing them out across a six-foot table.

The pantry has also set up cones and enlisted the help of the NYPD's 33rd Precinct to ensure the 200 or so people it serves each day are standing six feet apart in lines, Stennett said.

And, perhaps the biggest change, CLOTH is now open four days a week instead of its typical two.

"We have new people showing up now," Stennett said. "This is a whole different ball game."

The pantry is usually open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and would serve a few hundred people on a busy day, Stennett said. Now, it is serving about 200 people Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The increase is likely due to financial strain many New Yorkers are facing as they lose their jobs during the coronavirus crisis, though Stennett said there hasn't been time during the food rush to specifically ask those receiving CLOTH's meals.

New York's unemployment rate spiked 360 percent last week as businesses lay off or furlough workers.

The increased hours also means the pantry is looking for more volunteers.

CLOTH usually is staffed by Pantry Director Lesa Fortune and a few others each of the two days it is open. It now needs teams of five or so to work each day, with the added consideration that each volunteer shouldn't be working every day.

"We don't want to exhaust anybody right now," Stennett said. "We created shifts so people can sign up for the hours they want to come in."

The pantry is also preparing to start deliveries, but only for those that are homebound and cannot get food any other way, Stennett said. The organization's community health workers and local New York City Housing Authority developments are working to identify where there are seniors or disabled residents who may need the delivered food.

"We’re trying to do the best we can," she said.

Those interested in helping CLOTH can email pantry@cloth159.org or call at (212) 795-4779.