NYCHA Thanks The Shawn Carter Foundation and #startsmall for Helping Residents Buy Groceries

Thanks to a generous donation from the Shawn Carter Foundation and #startsmall, every household at Marcy, Sumner, and Tompkins Houses received a supermarket gift card to assist in purchasing the food they need. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hardships for many New Yorkers, including NYCHA residents, and access to food has been the most basic necessity that residents have requested help with. Throughout the city, NYCHA, City agencies, non-profit partners, residents, and elected officials have been supporting residents experiencing food insecurity with donated hot meals and grocery boxes. 

The Shawn Carter Foundation — a charity established by former Marcy Houses residents Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter and his mother Gloria Carter — joined the effort to tackle food insecurity among NYCHA residents, partnering with Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall initiative to support each of the 3,862 households of the three Brooklyn developments with a grocery store gift card.  

To ensure resident safety and maintain social distancing, residents were mailed the gift cards during the week of June 15, and were notified in advance via robocall to check their mailboxes for a special gift. 

NYCHA thanks the Shawn Carter Foundation and #startsmall for supporting NYCHA families and helping to provide relief during this pandemic.