Each day, Trevor Reich rides his bike through the city’s streets, his cargo weighing up to 500 pounds. “I do something very simple,” he said. “I bring people food.”

Trevor is a driver for City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization that has been feeding hungry New Yorkers for more than 25 years. Along with the group’s other bike and truck drivers, this year Trevor will collect 28 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. The food is then delivered free of charge to nearly 600 community food programs throughout the city. “At St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue, the people in line will thank me,” Trevor told those attending City Harvest’s seventh annual “On Your Plate Luncheon” held on May 11 at the Metropolitan Club. Those expressions of gratitude motivate him to keep pedaling.

Unfortunately, City Harvest’s mission just keeps growing. “People who never had to rely on emergency food now have to rely on emergency food,” said Jilly Stephens, executive director. In New York, 1.5 million people struggle daily to feed their families, unsure where their next meal will come from. Some line up five hours before the food distribution centers open. (The above film was shown at the luncheon).

The “On Your Plate Luncheon” raised more than $200,000. But City Harvest needs a constant influx of donations to keep all those trucks and bikes rolling. “Hunger does not go on vacation,” said Stephens. “Hunger does not go on holiday.”

To make a donation to feed hungry New Yorkers, go to the City Harvest website.

Click to read more about Woman Around Town Jilly Stephens, Executive Director of  City Harvest