Happy Holidays from all of us at WSCAH! The season invites reflection, and looking back on this whirlwind year can feel dizzying. But as we step into 2026, we want to celebrate what makes WSCAH and our partners across the Roundtable so extraordinary.

Join us for a conversation about resilience, community, and action in the face of challenges. We’ll be joined by Mark Levine, NYC’s incoming Comptroller, as we discuss the year that was—from SNAP becoming a political pawn in the national debate to WSCAH responding by increasing food distribution by 50%. We’ll also revisit highlights from the Robin Hood Annual Poverty Tracker Press Conference at WSCAH’s 180th Street warehouse. And keep an ear out for our friends at WWE, who not only sponsored Thanksgiving groceries for 200 families, but volunteered to flex their muscles and wrestle turkeys and pork shoulders into our customers hands.

As NYC stands on the precipice of the Mamdani Era, tune in for insights, stories, and a look ahead at how we’ll keep fighting hunger together.

Welcome back to Hangry for Change with Greg Silverman from WSCAH. The old rules no longer apply—long-standing federal, state, and city arrangements are shifting. In November, WSCAH served 80% more people than in October, driven by lingering anxiety from the longest government shutdown ever, which disrupted SNAP benefits for 42 million people. Even with benefits restored, stress persists.

WSCAH has responded by increasing our food allotments by 50% through the end of 2025, but amid systemic upheaval, we must ask: What’s next—and how can we work creatively to ensure dignified access to food? That’s where advocacy, research, and technological innovation come in. In this episode, we’re honored to welcome:

Craig Willingham, Managing Director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Ben Kerrick, Managing Partner at Karen Karp & Partners (KK&P)

Max Bernstein, Senior Analyst & Staff Consultant at Karen Karp & Partners (KK&P)

Katherine Miller, Author of At the Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy, Principal & Founder of Table 81; former Vice President of Impact at the James Beard Foundation; Adjunct Professor at the Culinary Institute of America

Tune in for this essential discussion on food security, system change, and the work ahead that can effect real change. Learn about The Roundtable's efforts to develop AI assisted invoice reading and analysis for frontline NYC providers, WSCAH's many years of collaborative advocacy and research with CUNY's Urban Food Policy Institute, and the unexpected power of Chef driven advocacy through the lens of Katherine Miller's book At the Table: The Chef’s Guide to Advocacy.

Barely a month from Labor Day, with summer memories disappearing in the rear view mirror, we’re back in the driving seat with a challenging road ahead. Before we accelerate into the fall and beyond, it's time for our community to take stock of how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go to serve the food insecure - and to empower each other - in the teeth of unprecedented upheaval.

Join us for for a look at the future across a changing emergency food landscape.

This episode Hangry is on the road. We’re taking you to Albany, the State Capital, to a meeting of the Alliance for a Hunger Free New York*. And by New York we mean the State not the City.

It’s renaissance has been led by Natasha Pernicka, Director of the Food Pantries for the Capital District. You'll be hearing from her and others later in a special Panel Discussion convened for this podcast from The Linda: Radio WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in the heart of the Albany.

*The Alliance is a new configuration of an older network of emergency food players from across our State. Previously known as the Hunger Action Network of New York State, it was reinvented during pandemic as the Alliance for a Hunger Free New York. https://www.alliancehungerfreeny.org/

In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville - America’s OG Stan - wrote in Democracy in America:

“In the United States, as soon as several inhabitants have taken an opinion or an idea they wish to promote in society, they seek each other out and unite together once they have made contact. From that moment, they are no longer isolated but have become a power seen from afar whose activities serve as an example and whose words are heeded.”

Nearly 200 hundred years later - to mark the end of Volunteer month - it’s time to remember, celebrate and renew this special American Spirit. Join us today on Episode 13 of Hangry for Change for a conversation honoring the living spirit of volunteerism that makes our work at WSCAH possible.

Hangry 4 Change explores the most urgent challenges facing the fight against hunger in New York City and beyond.

In Episode 12, as the seeds of our new reality are sown in Washington, D.C., we explore how we can maximize our effort to grow the resources for everyone facing food insecurity on this rocky terrain. We remain guided by our optimism that the WSCAH community can continue to innovate and advocate to support those facing food insecurity. Join us today on the steps of City Hall with city and state leaders (including local Assemblymember Micah Lasher), and in conversation with Kumar Chandran (former Senior Advisory & former Acting Undersecretary for Food & Nutrition at the USDA under Biden & Obama).

Hangry 4 Change explores the most urgent challenges facing the fight against hunger in New York City and beyond.

In Episode 11, PROTECT 2025 – Supporting Our City and Communities Under Fire, we go behind the scenes of the fight against hunger in New York City. As food insecurity continues to rise and federal support declines, frontline organizations and policymakers are stepping up with bold solutions.

Gherell Owens, an expert in emergency feeding operations and a Roundtable consultant, shares insights on innovations happening on the ground. Kavitha Gnanasambandan, co-founder of Blooming Health, explores how technology and collaboration can better support seniors in need. Cheryl Huber from United Way offers a broader perspective on hunger at the city level, and NYC DSS Commissioner Molly Park discusses how the city is responding to the growing crisis.

Join us for a critical conversation about the state of emergency food access today—and what it will take to build a stronger, more resilient system for the future.

Hangry 4 Change explores the most urgent challenges facing the fight against hunger in New York City and beyond. 

In Episode 10, join current CEO & Executive Director Greg Silverman as we remember Doreen Wohl, West Side Campaign Against Hunger's (WSCAH) extraordinary Executive Director from 1992-2012. Doreen sadly passed away this year, but the legacy of her impact on WSCAH and the emergency feeding system at large continues to be felt deeply today.

Doreen's leadership was unparalleled. She was a force of nature—unyielding in her commitment to justice, unafraid to challenge the status quo, and unstoppable in her pursuit of dignity and choice for all. Whether working with city officials, Board members, staff, or volunteers, she never took “no” for an answer and never backed down as she drove community focused change forward.

At WSCAH, she transformed emergency feeding, pioneered the nation’s first customer-choice food pantry, integrated customers into our Board of Directors, and focused pantry volunteerism around the customer community. “Dignity, Community, Choice” grew and flourished under Doreen.

Hangry 4 Change explores the most urgent challenges facing the fight against hunger in New York City and beyond.  Episode 9 features innovators who are reimagining how the sector is serving hungry New Yorkers across the city and state.

Hear from WSCAH's very own John LeBreton (Chief Financial and People Officer), Karen Karp (Food entrepreneur, consultant, and founder of Karen Karp & Partners), Renee Filette (Executive Director of Dutchess Outreach and board director of the Alliance for a Hunger Free NY), and Evan Ehlers (Founder of Sharing Excess).

Hangry 4 Change explores the most urgent challenges facing the fight against hunger in New York City and beyond. 

In Episode 8, we shine a light on the powerful role of faith communities in fighting hunger across NYC. Listen today to hear from three incredible leaders in the fight against hunger.