The Brooklyn Nets and and their official hospital, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have teamed up to launch “The Brooklyn Nets Food Pantry presented by HSS” at a Brooklyn elementary school.
The pantry will be located at P.S. 308, Clara Cardwell School, in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood – an area where food insecurity impacts approximately 26 percent of the population according to Food Bank For New York City. The Nets have worked with the Food Bank on four “pop-up” food pantries at Barclays Center since the pandemic began last March. Citywide, as many as two million New Yorkers are considered food insecure.
And Nets players will play a role in the pantry. As part of the panty’s nutrition program, the Nets and HSS will release recipe cards each month containing the ingredients and steps to prepare a Nets player’s favorite recipe, along with healthy snack pairings from HSS nutritionists and a physical activity suggestion from HSS physical trainers who work with the players.
Additionally, one student from P.S. 308 will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual cooking class with a Nets player using ingredients from the food pantry to prepare his favorite recipe.
The Nets report distributions will occur several times per month based on a schedule designated by school administration, and patrons will have the opportunity to select items by food group, completely free of charge, to meet the needs of each individual family.
“We are committed to addressing immediate needs that disproportionately impact communities in Brooklyn,” said John Abbamondi, CEO of BSE Global, the Nets parent company. “We are proud to work alongside HSS to help alleviate food insecurity for Brooklynites in-need, and to provide healthy meal options for our neighbors where they live and work.”
P.S. 308 is a Title 1 school, serving a high number of children from low-income households. In order to provide additional support for these families, the Nets and HSS will also work with the Food Bank and P.S. 308 to deploy a family-focused nutrition program to help address food insecurities experienced by students and their families.