Uptown Youth Group Becomes Food Delivery Service Amid Coronavirus

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A youth organization usually focused on physical education and technology has pivoted to become a food delivery service during the coronavirus pandemic, bringing hundreds of "care packages" to Washington Heights families in need.

Uplift NYC, a nonprofit started in 2014, has started putting together weekly care packages stocked with grocery items, masks and gloves to help families in Uptown Manhattan and the Bronx get by during the pandemic.

The care packages — packed with staples like milk, rice and beans or assorted fruit and vegetables — have fed at least 450 people since they started going out on April 11, the organization said.

"I really appreciated the groceries I got from this organization," said one Washington Heights resident Lucila Vasquez. "I feel it is very thoughtful of them to take in consideration that a lot of us have trouble getting anything to eat after pandemics is impacting our city."

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(Courtesy of Uplift NYC)

The weekly care packages are valued at about $150 each and are meant to have enough groceries to last a week, scaled to the size of each household. The organization is also hoping to start two-week sized packages, Uplift said.

The nonprofit has tapped other local groups to help put them together, including Word Up Books, who have added books to the care packages, and Onfleet, a mapping app that lets Uplift route its deliveries. Bio Classic Cleaning is also helping out by cleaning the site where the boxes are put together, Uplift said.

“We pivoted from a youth engagement program and took the urgent and responsive action that a crisis demands,” said Uplift Co-Founder Domingo Estevez.

(Courtesy of Uplift NYC).

The organization is hoping to raise $40,000 to keep the program going through a GoFundMe. The money will help Uplift continue delivering care packages for the next 40 days, according to the fundraiser.

Families who are interested in receiving the care packages can fill out an intake form on Uplift's website.

Uplift's food delivery is one of several ways local organizations are helping Uptown residents get by during the coronavirus pandemic.

Most recently, Catholic Charities recently gave out hundreds of food bags in Washington Heights and the Bronx, three nonprofits partnered to bring thousands of free meals to La Nueva España restaurant and the WaHi Diner and Hellenic Foundation partnered to bring meals to healthcare workers.

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