The Connected Chef, a nonprofit connecting Queens families to fresh produce at a discounted rate, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 23 for its new fresh market and community food hub in Woodside.
The non-profit, which previously operated out of an outdoor space at 49-09 5th St. in Long Island City, has opened a new location at 37-31 58th St. in Woodside that will serve as a weekly market and distribution center. Connected Chef has described the space as the first “fresh market and community food hub” in Queens.
Connected Chef, founded five years ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by Kim Calichio and Omar Bravo-Pavia, has distributed over 5 million pounds of food and served more than 60,000 Queens families since it was launched.
Connected Chef aims to provide access to nutritious food for all families in Queens, regardless of their income level, by offering a sliding scale payment system where shoppers can avail of 25% or 50% discounts on purchases with “no questions asked.”
Even the “market rate” prices are 30% cheaper than standard grocery store prices because Connect Chef “cuts out the middle man” by engaging directly with local farms, Calichio said. Customers seeking to avail of a discount can simply pick up a green or orange token when they enter the new location and present the token at the point of sale to avail of a 25% or 50% discount on their shopping.
Calichio said the process adds “dignity” to affordable shopping because Connected Chef does not ask for proof of eligibility. She said the nonprofit has been operating such a model since it launched in Long Island City and said a large number of people still pay market-rate prices if they are able to.
Connected Chef will operate its fresh market every Thursday and Friday from 2-6 p.m., with the space serving as a packaging center for its “lifeline” grocery boxes for the rest of the week.
The boxes, which are distributed to around 300 households a week, are also available on a sliding scale, providing families with between 12-22 pounds of nutrient-dense local produce at discounted rates.
Connected Chef also aims to uplift minority farmers in Upstate New York by working with Black and Latino farmers.
Calichio said Connected Chef has built a food system “rooted in care, dignity and love,” adding that the non-profit’s new headquarters will take its vision to the “next level.”
“It’s the home base for something bigger, a place where farmers, families and neighbors all thrive together,” Calichio said. “Here we will grow our partnerships with Black and Latino farmers who already make up 70% of our sourcing.”
Calichio said Connected Chef ultimately aims to achieve “100% BIPOC procurement.”
She said Connected Chef was showing a “way forward” at a time of rising costs in grocery stores across the city and the country and described the new headquarters as a “model” and said it was a food system that “truly loves people back.”
Shanel Thomas-Henry, the Democratic nominee for Council District 21, said the new space is reflective of what can happen when “community stands together.”
“We’re not just celebrating a building,” Thomas-Henry said. “We’re celebrating an investment in our community. We’re celebrating coming together.
“Food is a human right,” she added, describing the new center as a “beacon of hope” for the community.
“We have members of our community that will fight for one another, and when our essential needs are threatened, we have members of our community that will stand together and make sure everyone is provided for,” Thomas-Henry said.
Assembly Member Claire Valdez said Connected Chef was born during a “dire moment” at the peak of the pandemic but said food insecurity existed long before the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Everyone deserves nutritious, abundant food, and so many of our neighbors are deprived of that right every single day,” Valdez said.
She added that the new headquarters is particularly important at a time when the federal government is threatening cuts to a range of programs including SNAP and Medicaid.
“We are so proud to welcome them to Woodside,” Valdez said. “What you are bringing to us is so beautiful. Sharing meals, sharing fresh produce, showing people that we don’t have to beg for scraps. We can have exactly what we need, and we can build that together.”
