Tony Award Winner David Rockwell Unveils Newly Designed Facade For Citymeals On Wheels

This morning, Citymeals on Wheels, a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing and delivering meals for over 18,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers, unveiled its new warehouse facility, The Joan & Bob Tisch Emergency Meal Distribution Center, in Hunts Point. The 30,000-square foot facility dramatically expands Citymeals' capacity and resources to meet the needs of the city's growing senior population.

The Joan & Bob Tisch Emergency Meal Distribution Center was named in honor of the Tisch family and honors their ongoing commitment to the fight against elder hunger. The new facility enables Citymeals to expand its critical efforts to deliver weekend, holiday and emergency meals to more than 18,000 frail aged New Yorkers across the five boroughs, including:

-Doubling the number of packed shelf-stable emergency food boxes

-Storing enough nonperishable food for 55,000 additional meals, ready to be packed and distributed at a moment's notice

-Expanding its Mobile Food Pantry for meal recipients most at risk for malnutrition

-Operating a weekend meal delivery program in the Bronx

-Refrigerating fresh produce

-Accommodating up to 250 volunteers at one time to pack meal boxes for delivery

The building's façade, designed by the Rockwell Group, features larger-than-life portraits of Citymeals recipients. Too old and frail to shop and cook for themselves, they are often hidden behind closed doors - but their vitality is brought to life here.

The unveiling ceremony included remarks from Beth Shapiro, Citymeals on Wheels Executive Director; Jonathan Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels, whose family made the cornerstone gift in our capital campaign for this new warehouse; David Rockwell, architect, founder and President of Rockwell Group, who is responsible for the inspiring design; and Donna Corrado, Commissioner of the NYC Department for the Aging, who spoke about the significance of Citymeals as a partner and its impact on the city.

Citymeals thanks the following, who donated services for The Warehouse façade and opening event: Eric Vitale Photography, ARC and ShowMotion.

Additional takeaways include:

-New York City is home to more than 1.4 million people over the age of 60. The city's senior population is expected to grow 40% by 2040.

-One in ten older New Yorkers faces food insecurity.

-Citymeals is an essential part of the safety net for the city's older population.

-The majority of meals packed at The Warehouse are emergency meals.

-The organization played a critical role in the response to Hurricane Sandy, six years ago, delivering nearly 64,000 emergency meals to seniors trapped in their homes.

-Large-scale photo on The Warehouse façade feature Citymeals homebound elderly recipients.

-Located in Hunts Point, the new facility brings the non-profit into the heart of the city's commercial food hub.

Citymeals on Wheels (citymeals.org) provides a continuous lifeline of nourishing meals and vital companionship to New York City's homebound elderly. Working in partnership with community-based organizations and senior centers, Citymeals prepares and delivers over 2 million weekend, holiday and emergency meals for more than 18,000 of our frail aged neighbors each year. Last year, over 15,000 individuals volunteered nearly 69,000 hours of their time.

Since its founding in 1981, Citymeals has relied on the generosity of its Board of Directors, the City of New York, sponsors and other designated gifts to cover administrative costs. This ensures that 100% of all public donations will be used entirely for the preparation and delivery of meals.