CITYMEALS ON WHEELS RAISES OVER $1.5 MILLION AT 37TH ANNUAL POWER LUNCH

(Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - New York, NY) - Today, 400 leaders in the fields of business, fashion, entertainment, arts, government and philanthropy gathered at The Plaza to support Citymeals on Wheels for the nonprofit’s 37th Annual Power Lunch. Emceed by 20/20 Co-Host and ABC News Senior Correspondent and Citymeals Board Member Deborah Roberts, the event exceeded its fundraising goal, raising $1.5 million to deliver 150,000 nourishing meals for older New Yorkers who can no longer shop and cook for themselves. 

This year’s Power Lunch honored longtime supporters, Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Moda Operandi, and The Shubert Organization. Also in attendance was Citymeals Board President Colleen Goggins, Board Chair Chef Daniel Boulud, Citymeals Ambassador Brynn Whitfield, Event Chairs Derek Blasberg, Dr. Samantha Boardman, Margo M. Nederlander, and Lizzie Tisch.

“This year, we’re proud to recognize Lauren Santo Domingo and The Shubert Organization for their unwavering commitment to helping Citymeals end elder hunger," said Citymeals CEO Beth Shapiro. “We are also grateful for the steadfast support of our donors and sponsors who joined us today. Their generosity strengthens Citymeals’ lifeline for older New Yorkers, delivering meals and more to our older neighbors who built this city.”

Power Lunch is Citymeals’ largest annual fundraiser. Citymeals is committed to ending hunger among older adults in New York City by 2040 and believes that hunger is a solvable problem with a concrete solution – more food. Citymeals’ research published earlier this year showed that half of those older adults surveyed experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, with this number increasing to 60% for those receiving home-delivered meals. 65% of those surveyed are living on less than $15,000 a year.

Working in partnership with 30 community-based organizations and older adult centers, Citymeals delivered over 2 million meals last year for 22,000 older New Yorkers.

Additional notable attendees at this year’s event included: Antoni Porowski, Barbara Tober, Brett Heyman, Brynn Whitfield, Colby Mugrabi, Christian Siriano, Christine Baranski, Dan Colen, Erik Torstensson, Natalie Massenet, Erin Lichy, Fabiola Beracasa, Florence Fabricant, Greg Nobile, Helena Christensen, Jeremiah Brent, Judith Zabar, Kathleen Turner, Kristina O’Neill, Leigh Lezark, Leslie Ziff, Marcos Fecchino, Pat Wexler, Rebekah McCabe, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, Robert Wankel, Serena Boardman, Steven Beltrani, Tamara Mellon, Tucker Brown and others.

Citymeals’ official sponsors are American Airlines and FIJI Water. Event sponsors included Bloomberg Philanthropies, Disney Entertainment - including ABC News and WABC, Robb Report, Spectrum and Standard Industries.