Alma Sanchez
Nichelle Marcelle
Bhavna Kapoor
St. John's University
Charles Wankel
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We interviewed Pankaj Bhatara, whose restaurant donates excess left over food to those in need. Rather than throwing out unsold products that they could not or did not want sell the next day, the restaurant donates them to City Harvest
During the interview at World's Fair Marina, its owner describes to Bhavna how he felt compelled to help those in need. He noticed that night after night there was an excess of food leftover from a days work. He went on to tell us that one in seven Americans does not have enough food to eat. Thus, lacking the sufficient daily nutrients.Moreover, some of them don't now where their next meal will come from. Thinking about this left him unsettled. He wanted to give back but did not know how.
He realized that like his restaurant, there might be other restaurants throwing out unsold products that they could not or did not want sell the next day. He did some research and decided that the logical step was to team up with City Harvest. Like him, City Harvest is devoted to feeding the hungry. City Harvest recognized the practical purpose it could serve using and collecting excess food to fill the plates of the working mom who has trouble making ends meet, the senior in the apartment upstairs that lives on a fixed income. Pankaj Bhatara thought about all the families his donation to City Harvest could make. His innovative solution feeds one family in need.
His innovative solutions help out locally but also, sets the tone for others restaurant owner to do the same. This is in direct correlation with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number two, which is to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
By donating the excess food, Pankaj Bhatara (Owner of World's Fair Marina) can experience the satisfaction of knowing that he is providing the needy with a basic necessity needed for survival. He is doing something positive for his community, aiding the NYC residents that are less fortunate.
City Harvests' mission is to fight hunger in New York City. City Harvest collects food donations and distributes it to soup kitchens, food pantries and other community food programs through out the five boroughs of NYC. As per City Harvest's website, 1.3 million New Yorkers face hunger every year. This includes the homeless as well the working class residents who encounter difficulties covering their basic necessities due to the rising cost of living. By donating to City Harvest, World Fair Marina is helping City Harvest achieve their mission of ending hunger in NYC.
Due to donating to City Harvest, holding charity events for Toys for Tots and Heart for the Handicap, many organizations have come to the World's Fair Marina to hold charity events, Gala's, and other events to benefit the organization. These events brought a lot of attention towards the marina, it brought clientele that wanted to host parties and it brought revenue that these charities spent on hosting events.
Most people weren't aware that their was a restaurant located next to Citifield Stadium, and with these events they have learned about the beautiful banquet hall. Pankaj Bhatara spoke about how the influx of events they had led to him being able to network and bring more clientele. They created new menu items to personalize the events like milk and cookie shots for kids and more, which they added to other events and were a complete success. He hopes to being able to stream a lot of revenue in, to be able to donate more and let this cycle continue. He wants to be able to invest more money in the World's Fair Marina to make it the number one Banquet Hall in Queens and he believes the good Karma brought by doing charity will make this possible.
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