It’s time to once again combine eating and charity as Eat nYc brings its second annual festival to the Bronx.
Later this evening the ‘Eat nYc the Bronx Food and Wine Festival’ will give Bronxites the opportunity to enjoy good eats and wines while supporting the Food Bank for New York City.
The festival will take place at the Bronx Zoo’s Dancing Crane Pavilion.
The food and drink will come from various restaurants, breweries, chefs, distilleries and bakeries.
Companies such Häagen-Dazs, Blue Moon, Heineken, and Goya will be giving away free items to attendees.
In addition, Pandora will be at the festival distributing ‘swag bags’ with free merchandise.
Festival goers will also be able to see live performances and even some cooking demos.
The festivities will also include presentations for ‘Best Chef 2016 From the Bronx’ and ‘Best Restaurant 2016 in the Bronx’.
John Denizard, founder of Eat nYc, said the goal of the festival is to raise enough money to feed at least 25,000 hungry New Yorkers.
For every dollar raised, Food Bank for New York City is able to provide five meals.
Eat nYc’s first major event was last year’s festival.
Denizard said he realized there was a need to provide hungry New Yorkers with food and also provide healthier food options.
“Really our goal is to make health and nutritious food more accessible,” he said.
Denizard, 36, pointed out the Bronx is the borough most dependent on food banks and the borough with the highest obesity rate.
Denizard, a former chef, said it is easier and cheaper for Bronxites to eat fast food.
He said “since the beginning of time” people have had access to fresh produce, however today people have grown accustomed to paying more for these products.
In addition, he said the fresh produce at grocery stores and the food at fast food restaurants should cost around the same but they do not.
Denizard said farmers can now make more money working with Community Supported Agriculture in New York City.
CSA, according to its website, “allows city residents to have direct access to high quality fresh produce grown locally by a regional farmer.”
A individual pays in the range of $450-$650 upfront for a share of the farmer’s produce.
Denizard said he hopes to make this type of produce more accessible to those who otherwise can’t afford it.
In addition, using local CSA groups is better because it helps “cut out the middle man” so residents don’t have to go to supermarkets.
Eat nYc has also worked, and hopes to continue working, with D.I.G. Farms which is an organization that plants edibles around the city.
By having these gardens, people who need fresh produce can have direct access to the produce.
In addition to helping feed hungry New Yorkers, the festival will also feature the launch of Eat nYc’s new The Alchemist magazine.
Denizard said it will be the Bronx’s first food and wine magazine.
