Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn Friday to tout the sanctuary’s efforts to distribute food to those who have lost jobs or are still impoverished because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was a partnership with Ricky Davis, Tony Draper Partner with Steven Victor for the third feed your city challenge event in honor of rapper Pop Smoke, who was killed this past year in his home in California.
The mayor helped distribute food to a line of vehicles who were there to pick up food to reduce the stress on families racked by high unemployment. He said it was important to keep supporting residents who could barely afford to buy groceries, let alone pay their rents.
“We have to help the community during these difficult times and the Christian Cultural Center has been at the forefront of our efforts,” the mayor told attendees.
The Christian Cultural Center has been at the forefront of efforts to help the community during the crisis, including establishing a testing site for COVID-19 and anti-body tests. The community that CCC serves, has had some of the highest mortality rates for the virus in the city, many of whom are municipal and health care workers.
The CCC worked in conjunction with the Ricky Davis Foundation and the Feed NYC program to provide basic food necessities to residents that cover Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville and East Flatbush. The program is currently helping 300 families a week with pre-packed grocery bags put together in a clean, safe environment.
The CCC instructed both residents and staff to maintain social distancing in picking up the food and to wear a masks, have on gloves and have bags ready to fill to help “move the line as quickly as possible. “
