Days after Thanksgiving in 1981, Gael Greene, restaurant critic for New York magazine, read a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers not having anything to eat on weekends or holidays. Deeply disturbed, she called an equally upset James Beard – the renowned chef and cooking teacher – and they reached out to their friends and colleagues for help. After raising $35,000, Gael contacted the New York City Department for the Aging to express her righteous anger and announce they had raised funds to serve Christmas dinner that year. Gael had no sense where that gesture would lead. “I was totally naive. I had no idea it would become what it is today.”
What began with a group of like-minded individuals and a historic public-private partnership serving 6,000 frail aged New Yorkers that first Christmas has matured into an organization preparing and delivering over 2 million meals to more than 18,000 of our isolated older neighbors each year.
Vice Chairs
Joseph M. Cohen**
Co-Presidents
Daniel Boulud
Robert S. Grimes
Vice Presidents
Michael Lynne
Margo MacNabb Nederlander
Secretary/Treasurer
Richard E. Piluso
Assistant Secretary
Mathew Glazier
Members of the Board
Daniel D. Bartfeld
Aliyyah Baylor
Albert P. Behler
Alison Lohrfink Blood
Samantha Boardman, M.D.
Jim Carter
Anne E. Cohen**
Julie Daum
Randy Fishman
Robert K. Futterman
Colleen Goggins
Aaron M. Goldman
Alan R. Grossman
Yusi Gurrera
Mark Gusinov
Suri Kasirer
Richard Krawiec
Drew Nieporent
Charles Palmer
John Pomerantz
Dennis Riese
David Rockwell
Janet K. Rodgers
Lisa Rosenblum
John Shapiro
Danielle Smith
William T. Speck, M.D.**
Marcia Stein*
Christina Steinbrenner
Roxann Taylor
Lizzie Tisch
Kathleen Turner
Nick Valenti
Teri Volpert
Patricia Wexler, M.D.
Michael White
Honorary Board Members
Donna Corrado
Nicholas D’Agostino III
David Dinkins
Maggi Landau**
Edward Lewis
Jessye Norman
Alan Stillman
Donald G. Tober
Dee Topol
Joan H. Weill**
Roger Yaseen
Executive Director
Beth Shapiro
In Memoriam
Joe Baum
James Beard
Ruth Finley
Helen Hayes
Miriam Israels
Eleanor Lambert
Lewis Rudin
Janet Sainer
Joan H. Tisch
Preston Robert Tisch**
Pauline Trigère
Lillian Vernon
As a young girl, Arlene couldn’t wait for the school day to end so she could sit in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and read. “I had the perfect spot where no one could find me. It was so peaceful.” Read more
100% of your donation will be used for the preparation and delivery of meals, thanks to our partnership with the New York City Department for the Aging, along with gifts from our board of directors and others designated for administrative expenses.
