Compassionate Communities Award

2025: Grand Central Food Program Volunteers

Every day at 4:30 PM, something remarkable happens in New York City. Volunteers gather to feed hundreds of hungry and homeless New Yorkers through the Coalition’s Grand Central Food Program.  And when we say every day, we really mean every single day. The Grand Central Food Program has been doing this since December 1985 without missing a single night. Not once. And this is all possible thanks to our incredible volunteers.

That’s why we’re proud to announce that this year’s Compassionate Communities Award goes to the dedicated volunteers who make our Grand Central Food Program possible. 

Our GCFP volunteers epitomize the meaning of compassion, and are the perfect recipients for this year’s award. These volunteers were out there when the country was shaken on September 11. They served meals during Hurricane Sandy when half of New York lost power. And throughout the pandemic, when the world paused and most of us focused on “social distrancing,” they hit the streets every single night –  risking their own health to personally make sure that homeless New Yorkers had the food, clothing, masks, and sanitizer they needed to survive.

We started the Compassionate Communities Award ten years ago to recognize the people and organizations that go above and beyond to support New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. Most recently, recipients include Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors, who created a community for isolated new arrivals, and Afrikana, who provided translation and advocacy services for asylum seekers.

This year, as food insecurity reaches critical levels across the city and families struggle with catastrophic cuts to government programs that provide food, healthcare, and housing, we kept thinking about our own volunteers. Night after night, they just keep showing up.

Every evening, these volunteers serve over 1,000 meals, riding (and driving) our vans to bring hot, nutritious meals to hungry and homeless New Yorkers where they are in Manhattan and The Bronx. Over four decades, that adds up to more than 10 million meals! And the service that our volunteers provide goes beyond just the food. They learn people’s names, they learn their stories, they supply emergency goods like blankets and clothing to help people just get through the night, and they treat everyone with respect and dignity.

Meet some of our incredible volunteers here:

Our volunteers come from all walks of life – teachers, retirees, students, office workers, parents – all with a shared before that no one in their city should go hungry. They give up their evenings and weekends because they’ve decided to be part of the solution.

Dave Giffen, the Coalition’s Executive Director, started his career in homeless services as a Grand Central Food Program volunteer.

“Forty years of never missing a night isn’t just impressive, it’s a testament to the power of the GCFP, and the strength of these volunteers who give up their personal time, every single week, in the name of helping others.” Dave said. “But, I hope one day to proudly boast that we are shutting down the Grand Central Food Program, not for lack of compassion, but simply for lack of need. In the wealthiest city in the world, it is absurd and unacceptable that anyone has to get to bed hungry and homeless.”

Director of Emergency Relief Services, Juan De La Cruz, who has been with the program for 20 years, and his team have built something extraordinary: a program that combines logistical excellence with heartfelt compassion.

Juan said, “One of the great things about the volunteers at the Grand Central Food Program is they don’t see this as just charity or compassion, but as a way to serve their community and build a community themselves. Our volunteers do more than just serve meals. They remind every person we meet that they matter, are deserving of the same dignity as every person, and that their situation, whether short-term or long, is not the end of their story.”

The timing of this award feels especially meaningful this year. As we face growing challenges around hunger and homelessness, these volunteers remind us that lasting change happens through consistent action. They prove that showing up matters—not just once, but consistently.

To our Grand Central Food Program volunteers: this recognition belongs to you. For every cold or rainy night you’ve worked through, every person you’ve served with kindness, every time you’ve chosen to spend your evening helping others, you truly are the meaning of a compassionate community.

If you’re interested in joining this incredible group of volunteers, contact us to learn about opportunities with the Grand Central Food Program. And while we’re proud of 40 years of service, we continue to work, looking forward to a day when no New Yorker goes to bed hungry.