Astoria Food Pantry Forced To Cut Distributions As Donations Drop

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A food pantry that has kept thousands of Astorians well-fed since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic is being forced to scale back its efforts due to a dropoff in donations, organizers announced.

The Astoria Food Pantry, launched as a small pop-up in March 2020, has evolved in the ensuing two-plus years into a major volunteer-run effort, distributing bags of fresh produce, bread, and canned food to 460 people each week.

Along the way, it merged with the popular Astoria Mutual Aid Network — another pandemic-era effort at neighborhood uplift — and began renting a storefront on Steinway Street near 28th Avenue.

But last week, organizers announced on Instagram that they were cutting half of their food budget, reducing their weekly Monday and Saturday giveaways to just every other week.

"This is a major setback that will significantly affect our neighbors," the group wrote.

Catie Fireman, one of the food pantry's organizers, told Patch that fundraising had been strong in 2020 and 2021, but went downhill in 2022. Rather than a lack of interest, she said the decline was likely due to the fact that "our donor base is feeling financially squeezed as well."

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The problem cuts to the heart of the mutual aid model: "instead of going to the uber-wealthy for donations, we're funded by the working people of Astoria," said Fireman, who works by day at Bench Flour Bakers.

The decision to cut back was "very frustrating and very sad," Fireman said, though the clients affected by the reductions have been understanding.

The pantry's difficulties have been compounded by the federal government's failure to renew pandemic aid programs like the expanded child tax credit, which had helped reduce demand for food donations, Fireman said.

"The first wave of COVID also came with some support. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn't sufficient, but a lot of those things have just dropped away over the last couple — almost three years," Fireman said. "People are left with less, left with the cost of food going up."

On the food pantry's side, expenses have included its $4,000 monthly rent for the storefront space and about $8,000 per month in food purchases — shrinking to $4,000 after the cutbacks. (The pantry buys about 75 percent of its food, with the rest being donated or "rescued.")

Since announcing the cuts, the food pantry has had a strong fundraising response. If the trend continues into next year, it could be enough to restart weekly distributions, Fireman said.

Still, organizers sense that bigger changes are needed to keep the pantry viable. That could include upping its focus on "rescuing" food that would otherwise be wasted from places like grocery stores, and seeking funding from new sources like grants and events.

Neighbors have already stepped in to help — one volunteer who works as an event planner walked into the pantry office and offered to organize a fundraiser, Fireman said.

"That kind of response is also very inspiring, along with the few thousand dollars we got in response to the Instagram post," Fireman said.

Click here to donate money to the Astoria Food Pantry, or here to learn how to donate food, clothing, and other items. A schedule of the pantry's weekly food distributions is on their website.

Previous coverage: Pop-Up Pantry Helps Keep Astoria Fed During Coronavirus Pandemic