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Grand Street gives back with holiday food drive

13 Grand Street businesses are collecting food donations for the holiday season

Grand Street businesses are giving back to the community December 1st through 19th by participating in the Grand Street BID's 3rd annual Grand Street Holiday Food Drive. 13 small businesses will host collection boxes for non-perishable food items to be donated to families in the St. John the Evangelist (195 Maujer Street) food pantry program.
The food is used to help the 150-200 weekly recipients of the parish’s hot meal program as well as their food pantry which serves 20-30 families, all of whom live here in the Grand Street neighborhood. The most typical recipients are senior citizens on fixed incomes and working families whose combined incomes don’t allow for full meals by the end of the month. Over the last two years, the food drive has collected and donated 852lbs of food.

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You can bring non perishable donations to the following businesses:

To donate, just stop by any of our participating businesses and drop the food items in the holiday wrapped collection box. That’s it! Use the list below to pick out groceries at a participant like Bravo Supermarket (785 Grand Street) to check out and donate in one trip. Perishable and pre-cooked foods will be also collected by us (246 Graham Ave) so you can pick up a warm meal from any restaurant to help a small business and a hungry family.

Items that are especially helpful are as follows: Canned vegetables, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, oatmeal, rice, beans, canned fish, baby formula + food, granola bars, raisins + dried fruit. Also, pre-cooked meals or food that can be eaten without much heating or cooking required.

*Bring perishables to our office at 246 Graham Avenue between 10am to 5pm. Please call ahead of time at 718-218-8836.

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Grand Street business owners share their stories in lead up to street murals

The BID spoke with businesses as part of the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative

The Sandwich Shop owners Clarisa + Ricardo

The Sandwich Shop owners Clarisa + Ricardo

Why do businesses decide to open on Grand Street? What makes this neighborhood special as opposed to the limitless commercial corridors in NYC? The Grand Street BID serves to beautify the neighborhood + improve quality of life for businesses and shoppers, and as part of that effort we are commissioning street art murals at some of our intersections this June.

As part of that project, we wanted to use the opportunity to get to the heart of what makes this neighborhood worth taking care of in the first place. So we sat down with business owners on Grand Street to talk about the community in anticipation of the streetscape improvements. We asked questions such as “What’s your favorite memory on Grand Street?”, “Why did you open a business here?”, and “Where are you from originally?” to get a clearer picture of Grand Street’s rich diversity and attractiveness to entrepreneurs.

We talked to a variety of businesses, from old timers Bahia Restaurant & Café + Empire Lock, established businesses The Sandwich Shop + Noorman’s Kil, and newcomers Eleva Coffee + King Kog. We also interviewed some residents and property owners for their perspective on the neighborhood. The interviews will be pieced together with documentation of the painting to be released with the completion of the murals as part of the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative.

Shawn + Anna Maria (King Kog) discussed how they bring infrastructure to NYC streets. Raffaello + Emilio (Eleva) shared their personal connection living in the neighborhood. Luis (Bahia) explained how he’s seen the neighborhood change and how his business has adapted. Melinda (resident) spoke about her move to Grand Street 20+ years ago. There are so many stories to be told by the tenants of Grand Street, and through this documentary, the BID is proud to give those voices a platform.

Stay tuned for the documentary this summer and look out for art popping up throughout Grand Street in the coming months.