January 4, 2012

Citymeals is proud to mark its 30 year anniversary this year. It was on Christmas Day in 1981 that Citymeals first brought warm smiles and meals to frail New Yorkers.

It began when restaurant critic Gael Greene found out that the city's meal program left many homebound elderly alone and hungry on weekends and holidays.She called her friend, chef and author James Beard, and together they rallied the restaurant world and their friends to raise $35,000 that weekend -  enough to deliver 6,000 meals on Christmas.

Today, Citymeals funds 33 community-based agencies that bring weekend, holiday and emergency meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers who can no longer shop or cook for themselves. Because of the support of donors and volunteers like you, last year Citymeals provided 1.7 million nutritious meals to 16,918 isolated elderly New Yorkers in all five boroughs.