Happy New Year everyone!
 

When I met Josh, Tommy and Anup, and began my time at Green Top, my only goal was to be a part of a food system that was stripped of noise and got people a little closer to their region’s farms. It’s confusing to eat in this country, and I was energized to find a group of people that were so likeminded—people I would come to learn a lot from over the next six years.

Last year, we hired over 60 people. It’s a little surreal to think about, and it’s been really special to learn together as we work on things. Anup was just appointed to Mayor Adams' Chef's Council to focus on a part of the problem with our city’s school lunch program. Rebecca has rebuilt our site to showcase our ever-changing menus that Wendy has worked on with the whole team.

Our entire team has worked tirelessly to open a brand new facility—twice the size of our previous kitchen—to lay the groundwork for our future. If better food is what motivated me originally, the people I get to work alongside is what continues to make it very, very rewarding. And while our reach has continued to grow, this year we’ve been able to pull back on the reactive mindset that the pandemic demanded, and establish a foundation out of the grit that those years helped foster. Maturity in our processes is something we all needed for our minds, our personal lives, and our sustainability as a group of people that feel good about the way we're spending our time.

At this point, we've delivered over two million meals to New York's homebound older adults. Each week we prepare 1 ton of produce for New York City schools, connecting our region's farms to kids in Harlem. We're feeding around two thousand kids each day, and providing regular cooking classes with Wellness in the Schools and to our friends at the Queens Center for Gay Seniors.

I’m proud of us. I’m also increasingly aware that the undertaking of attempting to create a better system within our larger societal structures constantly challenges our values. I feel very fortunate to have a team like ours to continue to forge more sustainable paths.

Thank you for your continued support this year. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you, and if you are gathering in the coming weeks. You can check out some menus or just write me :)

- Al