| The two major efforts piloted by CCC evolved from the growing recognition that the individual efforts of Emergency Food Programs (EFP) are ineffectual in bringing about an end to the longer-term issue of hunger. The lack of food is not the only problem facing clients. Providing nutritious meals while vital, does not alone foster greater self-sufficiency and thereby an end to hunger. CCC is therefore working to transform the discussion in the anti-hunger community to focus on greater advocacy and coalition building as well as an emphasis on activities that go beyond traditional emergency services.
West Harlem Action Network Against Poverty (WHANAP): WHANAP is a coalition of 12 different EFPs all located within the immediate vicinity surrounding the Cathedral. The CCC Community Organizer manages the activities of participating agencies in order to streamline services, find and secure additional funding sources, and advocate for better coordination and implementation of social services both locally and across the entire West Harlem community.
The goals of the Network are to:
- Share information, ideas, support, and relevant resources
- Coordinate services among the various emergency food programs, social service organizations, community groups, and faith-based groups doing anti-poverty work
- Foster self-empowerment among clients through advocacy and beyond emergency services
- Sponsor joint programs designed to assist the under-served population in the Morningside Heights and West Harlem communities
- Raise funds for program implementation and expansion through coordinated efforts
- Increase the nutritional content, quality, and variety of the food served at emergency food programs in the West Harlem/Morningside Heights area
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Above: City Council Member Eric Gioia (center left, without a tie) joins Elwanda Young, COO of United Way of New York City (left of Mr. Gioia), Joel Berg (center right, with tie) of NYC Coalition Against Hunger, and Archdeacon Michael Kendall of The Episcopal Diocese of New York and others at a press conference for West Harlem CSA's Community Supported Agriculture Program, the initative that connects low-income families to regional farmers and their produce.
Below: Michael Paone, WHANAP coordinator and Rita Green, Director of Central Harlem Sobering Station and WHANAP member testifying on behalf of WHANAP to the New York State Food Policy Council about the needs of emergency food programs and the issues of food security facing our community.
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