AIDS Center of Queens County Food Market feeds hundreds

Nuria Lobo knew hundreds would show up for a farmer’s market at the AIDS Center of Queens County on a recent early Saturday morning. It was open to all, addressing food insecurity in the community. That’s why the Honduran mother of two young children showed up at 4 a.m.

“It was a little frightening, but it’s what we have to do,” said Lobo, standing at the head of a line that stretched for more than two blocks along a hard-to-reach service road on the Van Wyck Expressway in Jamaica, Queens.

“They give away good things here, better than most other places. That’s why I make the effort,” Lobo told O’Donnell & Associates’ “On the Record,” which was covering the “Food for Health Farmer’s Market” on July 25.

The market, hosted on Saturdays by ACQC and its partner, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, began in April and was an effort to address food insecurity in the community, which has worsened throughout New York City because of inflation and the city’s worsening affordability crisis. Such markets have become a vital answer to addressing hunger, not just in New York City, but across the nation.

Long-time residents and ACQC clients were on the line. The market also attracted many immigrants. All waited patiently in line for hours before the market opened at 10 a.m. “There are people from all over here. Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala. There are even Ecuadorians,” said Elida Canales, a Honduran woman who was among those in line for the market.

“Oh, my God. They can’t wait … You see the line?” asked Rosemary Lopez, ACQC’s executive director, as a steady stream of people entered the center’s parking lot where the market was being staged. ACQC, having moved to its current location in November and having a parking lot at the site, seized the opportunity to use it for the market.

Once opened, ACQC staffers volunteering at the market began distributing bags of fresh produce and other staples, including milk, eggs and bread.

AHF, the world’s largest HIV/AIDS medical care organization, provided the food as part of its “Food for Health” program, started in 2021 to complete its circle of services. The program supports both food markets and food pantries hosted by AHF partners, while promoting food education to address the growing number of people, including families, experiencing food insecurity across the country.

“We were able to do this because of the generosity of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation,” Lopez told On the Record. “We don’t have this kind of funding to do this.”

Lopez and other staffers volunteering their Saturday from as early as 7 a.m. until the market’s closing at 1 p.m. said they felt many emotions serving so many people.

“It’s heartwarming,” said Dawn Douglas, the ACQC’s deputy executive director. “Families with children coming out… They’re so grateful. We are meeting people who just lost their jobs, who are homeless; it’s a mixed bag.”

Paul Graham, a senior adolescent health education specialist who serves as a link to the ACQC’s services during the intake process for clients, told On the Record that volunteering at the market was “the best experience.”

“It is really good helping,” he said in between making announcements while handling crowd control. “Because you really can’t do enough.”

Volunteer Robert Steptoe, ACQC’s case management director, admitted to On the Record that “To see the community being serviced, needs being met, has been overwhelming … I also oversee our community pantry, and I have to say … Food is such an issue, food disparities.”

“Though, through food,” he added, “people come back for services.”

Volunteer Judy Pedraza, a program manager for ACQC’s transitional housing program, helped start the nonprofit’s original food pantry “way back when it was a small, little closet, and we gave out food to the point where – oh my God – where we serviced the [entire] community.”

After helping to run and grow the pantry, volunteering for the food market now was a “privilege … and a joy,” she told On the Record. “People have food insecurity. I just love to come and do this because people are so appreciative,” she said. “And at the end of the day we all feel like we contributed something good to this crazy world.”

Ronnie Aickman, director of ACQC’s housing department, said the volunteer work was “rewarding,” and that it was a natural extension of her work. “I became a social worker for a reason, because I love to help,” she said, standing over displays of fresh tomatoes and bundled scallions.

Aickman mentioned some of the conversations she has had with people served by the market. “Some will tell me, ‘You know, this is so great,’ and they thank us for what we’re doing,” she recalled. “And then when I saw the nurses, the doctors, the physician assistants, coming for food, I said, Wow! you know, we really are doing a good job for the community. It’s amazing.”

ACQC part-time receptionist Loretta Evans, who retired from JPMorgan where she worked in cash management, began volunteering for the food pantry a dozen years ago, and now was helping with the market.

“I got tired of sitting at home, so I came here,” she said, as she packed a bag with fresh vegetables. “It makes me feel good,” she added. “My heart pumps when I see people. Full of joy. Full of joy.”

On the line as it moved forward, John Womack, a 67-year-old retired culinary assistant who is HIV positive, said he learned of the market on one of his visits to ACQC for its supportive services earlier this year. He said he felt so welcomed by the volunteers on his first visit that he kept coming back. “It was their joy. Just the joy in all the people about it. I volunteered at a food bank at another place, and it was just the love of giving. [That’s why] I just started coming here. They all seem happy to be here.”

Womack also noted how hard times were driving demand for the market. “It has to be hard for everyone,” he said. “I’ve been on EBT (the Electronic Benefits Transfer digital payment system used for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) and Social Security for almost four years, and with it being cut, everyone is hungry. Everybody everywhere is hungry. I don’t care what status they’re in. They’re hungry. Food [prices] have gone up. In the past four years, I think groceries have gone up 50%!”

“So, food banks are in demand,” he added. “And when you find a good one, you stick with it.”