On The Scene: Food Bank NY Celebrates Annual Can Do Awards

The Food Bank for New York City honored chef José Andrés, philanthropist Hildy Simmons, grocery store chain Stop & Shop, chef David Burtka, and actor Neil Patrick Harris at its annual Can Do Awards gala.

Celebrity chefs and special guests walked the orange carpet at Ciprani Wall Street to raise awareness for hunger in New York. “Anytime we get to celebrate our supporters is a big deal,” Food Bank of New York City President and CEO Margarette Purvis said.

The evening brought out the best of New York culinary artists, with renowned chefs Marc Murphy, Ariel Fox, Alex Guarnaschelli, TV personality Adam Richman, “Real Housewives of New York” star Luann de Lesseps, Food Bank board member Katie Lee, and junior board member JJ Johnson in attendance to support the honorees.

The orange carpet was a love fest for friends and colleagues, celebrating one another’s charitable work with the Food Bank to feed thousands of New Yorkers.  Adam Richman specifically spoke of his admiration for chef JJ Johnson and the evening’s honored humanitarian chef José Andrés, one of his self-proclaimed heroes. “Chef JJ Johnson does a profound profound amount with the Food Bank, and he and I have been working with José Andrés and his fundraising events including his World Central Kitchen,” Richman explained.

Richman’s personal commitment to working at the Bowery Mission with the Food Bank is largely inspired by his own career with food. “I live a life far beyond my own imagination largely because of the food space. For me to turn a blind eye to scarcity–especially as the guy who’s first show [“Man vs. Food”] involved 5 pound burritos–I feel that I have a profound obligation to remind people that scarcity isn’t just an issue happening in what we consider to be 3rd world countries. It’s happening right under our noses. I am grateful and so proud to be here tonight because with all the opulence and all the every pretty people, behind it are people who are going to eat tonight and stay warmer tonight and I feel better about that.”

Honored chef Andrés humbly described his passion for assisting those in need. The Michelin-starred chef is globally recognized for his international efforts to curb hunger. “I’m sure there are more people out there who deserve it more than me. The recognition for this award goes to all those men and women that do it every single day of their lives without being recognized,” Andrés said on the orange carpet. “I wish that tonight was not a day to raise money so the Food Bank of New York can keep running but maybe it was the day that we are celebrating the end of the Food Bank. I don’t know if anybody asks themselves why in the richest city in the history of mankind we need to have a food bank.” Andrés also quoted French philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, saying “the destiny of the nation is really depending on how they feed themselves” to reflect the state of which our nation is in.

Celebrity chef Ariel Fox similarly looked to food as an indicator of love and wellness. “Food to me is family. It’s what’s brings people together,” Fox said. “People that are suffering from not having enough food, they also don’t get to have that experience that we have at the dinner table every night, and that to me is the most heartbreaking. Food is what brings people together and that’s why hopefully we can make a change and move forward.”

“Real Housewives” star and cabaret performer Luann de Lesseps, also known as The Countess, attended to support the organization that assists those struggling in the city. “The Food Bank feeds millions and millions of people who are not as fortunate– the homeless, the sick–so it’s really important to raise awareness and help wherever you can,” de Lesseps mused.

Food Bank for New York President and CEO Margarette Purvis also spoke of this year’s restructuring of both food offerings and locations to target those who need it most. “We are doing a lot more focusing on the neighborhoods that are the poorest where we can actually take food like green vegetables and help to reduce the risk of heart disease,” Purvis stated, citing the Food Bank is no longer accepting candy or sweetened beverages. “We’re going to also be launching a new metric. We’ve always been talking about pounds…but now because we’re really trying to push more produce, we’re looking at servings and by doing servings we can encourage more of the farmers to do more donating to our food bank in the city.”

Purvis also highlighted Stop and Shop’s dedication to assisting those affected by the federal shutdown, offering pop-up food banks at Barclays Center and Yankees Stadium to feed government workers.

This year’s Can Do Awards was centered around honoring legacies of volunteers and supporters. The organization extends across the five boroughs to help one in five New Yorkers who rely on the Food Bank for services, extending far beyond food to include toiletries and garments. Board member Katie Lee and her involvement with the Woman to Woman Food Bank initiative embodies this celebrated long-term commitment to giving back. “I never knew women depended on the Food Bank for their feminine needs,” Lee explained, describing the donation campaign for tampons, pads, deodorant and other hygienic necessities. “When I started thinking about young girls skipping school in NYC because they had their period and didn’t have a tampon, I just had to do something. Women deserve to go to work with dignity and to not feel like they’re going to have an accident. I am so proud to be a part of this organization.”

Legacy honorees David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris spoke of passing on their passion for giving back to their two children, recalling Food Bank visits during Thanksgiving with the kids playing “shop” in the pantry and competing to see who served the most meals. “It allows the kids to put some things in perspective that they otherwise wouldn’t see, and we’re really proud of the Food Bank for giving them the opportunity to do that,” Harris said.

Bank of America sponsored the evening, featuring a performance by the iconic Four Tops and live auction by Christie’s auctioneer and author Lydia Fenet.

The auction itself raised over $300,000 with prizes ranging from watching a Billy Joel performance from the luxury of the Bank of America suite at Madison Square Garden to a private dinner party with catered by chef David Burtka and husband Neil Patrick Harris serving as bartender.

Together, the evening’s attendees raised more than 9 million meals for the hungry. As honored chef José Andrés explained, food is what the evening truly was about. “At the end of the day, food is at the heart everything,” Andrés said. “Food very much can explain the world and who we are.”