New York Jets players Zach Sudfeld (left) and Ryan Quigley (right) prepare a turkey meal for diners at the Food Bank for New York City’s Harlem Kitchen. (Photo: Daniel Rodriguez / The Ink)
Since her apartment burned down in January, Marlene Silva, 50, has regularly relied on the Food Bank of New York City’s Harlem kitchen. “We’ve been eating at pantries because we lost everything,” said Silva, who now lives in the Bronx. “It’s been hard.”
But when Silva, her husband and their granddaughter arrived at the kitchen Tuesday evening, they had a pleasant surprise: three New York Jets players were serving them their dinner.
“It was really heartfelt,” said Silva. “It shows our community that no matter how famous some people are, they do make time to do charity work. I’m going home happy.”
Each year, the Jets partner with the Food Bank during the holiday season. This year, Ryan Quigley, Leger Douzable and Zach Sudfeld served up turkey, rice and vegetables.
“It feels great doing this because this is our city and these are the people we play for,” said Quigley, a punter. “With the holidays coming up, there are a lot of people who aren’t going to have food, so anything we can do to help show them that we do care is a good thing.”
The three teammates unloaded the turkeys from the Food Bank’s 54-foot truck and proceeded to slice vegetables in the kitchen. The diners got a Jets sticker and key chain as they left the building.
Some diners wanted another souvenir. Kenya Pritchard, 45, posed for a photo with Douzable, a defensive end.
“I came here tonight not expecting anything out of the ordinary,” said Pritchard. “I love all New York sports teams. So when I saw the Jets players, I wanted to try and get a picture with one of them and have them serve me food. I think it’s fabulous that these players take time to give back to the community because the community sure shows them love.”
The Jets participate in many community service activities throughout the year, including speaking to youth football programs and visiting New York City schools to encourage students to fight obesity and bullying. In December, several of the players will travel to New Jersey to give 25 children gift cards and accompany them while they shop at a Modell’s Sporting Goods store.
“This isn’t part of their contract,” said Jesse Linder, director of community relations for the Jets. “They just volunteered to do this. We do this specific event at the Food Bank year after year to raise awareness on the hunger issues in the city.”
The Food Bank serves over 500 people a day at its Harlem location. Through its network of more than 1,000 charities and schools citywide, the organization provides roughly 63 million free meals for New Yorkers every year, according to its website.
“Hunger is a huge problem here in New York City, so if you see your warm meal being served by members of your favorite football team, it’s an awesome opportunity,” said Camesha Grant, the Food Bank’s vice president of community connections and reach. “Roughly 1.5 million people per year in New York City rely on food pantries for a hot meal.”
Residents like Silva and Pritchard say they need local food banks to feed themselves.
“The city is a very expensive place to live and the rent is extremely high,” said Pritchard. “I come here to the food pantry to balance out having enough food for the rest of the month.”
Despite various challenges, many of the people eating at the Food Bank try and maintain a positive outlook. As a group of men finished their meals, they thanked the volunteers and said “God is good, all the time.”
“I stay positive because it could be worse,” said Silva. “During that fire that burned down my apartment, I could have lost my husband. A couch can be replaced but not your loved ones and I have them. And when events like today take place, it makes me even happier.”