Queens Together, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting food insecurity and uplifting local restaurants, will host its fourth annual International Food Expo in Corona next month, bringing 40 local restaurants to the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI).
The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8 and will offer guests an opportunity to sample bites from a diverse selection of Queens eateries.
Participating restaurants will set up stalls at NYSCI, located at 47-01 111th St., offering samples of some of their most popular dishes.
The Food Expo features a diverse line-up of Queens eateries, including cuisines from Burma to Japan and from Italy to Mexico.
A number of regular participants are returning to the event, including Astoria Thai eatery Kam Rai Thai, Fresh Meadows’ Fuzi Pasta, Jamaica-based Salvadoran joint Rincon Salvadoreño and Richmond Hill’s Punjabi Dhaba.
A number of newcomers are also making their Food Expo debuts at NYSCI next month, including Elmhurst’s Burmese staple Eaterniti, Flushing-based Japanese restaurant Y Space BBQ and Jackson Heights Pakistani restaurant Karachi Kabab Boiz, which offers a selection of South Asian street food favorites.
Bakeries such as viral Sunnyside Filipino bakery Kora and Woodside’s Latin American bakery Masa Madre will help provide sweet treats on the day.
Tickets for the upcoming Food Expo are available for $100, with no admission fee for children aged 12 and under. All proceeds from the event will go toward two new Queens Together initiatives – “SNAP BACK” and “Adopt a Veteran.”
The latter program, which launched as a pilot earlier this year, aims to provide veterans recently discharged from hospital care with one month of fresh meals prepared by local chefs.
Queens Together founder and Executive Director Jonathan Forgash said the program aims to cater to up to six veterans a month and provide freshly-prepared meals for the first month of their respite after a stay in hospital.
“The first month of recovery is really important for the health and well being of anybody, and it is that first month that we want to target with some compassionate hospitality from a local restaurant,” Forgash said.
He said the pilot program saw Fuzi Pasta provide fresh meals to 106-year-old Horace Caratelli, a veteran of the Second World War who fought with the 1st Armored Division.
The SNAP BACK program, meanwhile, aims to proactively respond to upcoming federal funding cuts to the SNAP program. The cuts, introduced by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, are set to be introduced next spring and mandates that states pay a share of SNAP benefits. The bill also imposes stricter work requirements on SNAP recipients.
Forgash said the new initiative will see Queens Together partner with local restaurants and schools to provide culturally-appropriate groceries to families impacted by the cuts.
The non-profit will identify areas in Queens with no food pantries and work with schools in the area to identify families in need, Forgash said.
“A restaurant will deliver bags of groceries to the school and the student will be able to bring the groceries home to their family,” he said. “So the students are contributing and the parents are able to cook a home-cooked meal.”
He said the grocery bags will subsidize a week’s worth of cooking.
Forgash said food has the power to unite the community and added that the International Food Expo will bring people together under one roof.
“Food unites us for holidays, gatherings with friends, date nights, and in times of need,” Forgash said. “The International Food Expo brings it all together on one night to celebrate the food, the people, and the spirit of Queens while raising funds to battle food insecurity.”
The Food Expo is sponsored by the Champlain Hudson Power Express and Hydro-Québec, longstanding partners of Queens Together.
Pete Rose, a senior director of Hydro-Québec, the clean energy provider of the Champlain Hudson Power Express, described the upcoming Food Expo as “truly impactful.”
“We are thrilled that the proceeds will help fund critical food relief and support small businesses,” Rose said in a statement.
