With September marking Hunger Action Month, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts has been making efforts to raise awareness on food insecurity and assist local food programs like Feeding Westchester to provide much-needed food for the community.
Throughout September, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts will be lighting its iconic porte cochère orange each night in celebration of Hunger Action Month.
Approximately 38% of households in Westchester are at risk of hunger. Rising cost-of-living, higher grocery prices and federal funding cuts have contributed to this percentage, which represents a 15% increase from two years ago.
Since MGM Resorts acquired Empire City Casino in 2019, it has made numerous significant contributions to address food insecurity to nonprofit organizations in the area, including Feeding Westchester. This reflects the company’s philanthropic mission of prioritizing the fight against food insecurity.
Over the years, the MGM Resorts Foundation has provided grants to Feeding Westchester that have supported local food pantries and distributions, as well as Feeding Westchester’s Retail Recovery and Kids in the Kitchen programs.
The Retail Recovery program diverts millions of pounds of healthy food to families in need across Westchester County, ensuring this food does not go to waste. In 2024 alone, the program prevented more than 5 million pounds of food from ending up in landfills.
Kids in the Kitchen empowers kids and their families to educate themselves around healthy cooking and balanced nutrition. It is a partnership that originated with the Mount Vernon City School District before expanding to several other districts.
“Empire City is a valued partner joining in our mission to nourish neighbors across Westchester,” Feeding Westchester Chief Operating Officer Tami Wilson said. “These partnerships are critical to ensuring that families in our community have access to nutritious food. With deep cuts to SNAP ahead, we’re incredibly concerned for Westchester residents—including single parents, veterans, working families and seniors— who will be left with even fewer options to put food on the table. The role of the private sector is more important than ever, and we are calling on all partners—new and long-standing—to step up in unprecedented ways to meet this growing need.”
Many employees from Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts volunteer at Feeding Westchester events. This includes helping to hand out food to those in need in their respective communities.
Several employees also took part in Feeding Westchester’s Golden Scoop competition, in which participants tried to pack as much food as possible for local families in need as quickly as possible. This year’s competition resulted in 2,100 bags of produce being packed for distribution to Westchester seniors, equating to 14,000 meals.
The hundreds of volunteer hours from Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts employees dedicated to food insecurity reflect the company’s broader commitment to exceed 1 million volunteer hours by 2025. The company successfully reached this milestone earlier this year.
“As more of our neighbors face food insecurity, the resources local organizations need is increasing, and MGM Resorts is incredibly honored to be able to support initiatives to address food insecurity through our nonprofit partners, including Feeding Westchester,” Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts Spokesperson Taryn Duffy said.
Those interested in learning more about Feeding Westchester and its corporate partnerships can go to feedingwestchester.org/get-involved/corporate-partnership-volunteer-opportunities.
