BMCC Staffer Helps Stop Food Insecurity in a Neighborhood Hard Hit by Covid

Brianna T. Codner, an audio technician with the Media Center at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY), has used her expertise to set up the sound system for countless large events at the college.

“It’s not traditional as a woman to be an audio engineer, but women are on the rise in this industry,” says Codner, who attended an audio engineering school in Manhattan to build her skills.

When a friend, Sade Boyewa, set up a free-food community fridge in their neighborhood in Harlem, Codner found she had another skill set — grass roots community organizing and helping people in need, to feel comfortable taking home bags of fresh food.

She also helps provides cleaning supplies, gloves and plastic bags for the project, as they work constantly to keep the fridge, located at 116th Street and Manhattan Avenue, in good shape for multiple users.

“Since COVID-19, so many more people are unemployed and also aren’t able to do things they normally do, like go to the market or stand in line,” Codner says. “The lines out here in Harlem have been ridiculous.”

The pandemic has hit her neighborhood hard. Black and Hispanic New Yorkers comprise 62 percent of all confirmed deaths from COVID-19 and three New York City boroughs — Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx — have each had more deaths than any other county in the country.

“As a college assistant at BMCC,” Codner says, “money is definitely way tighter than it was before the corona virus hit. The community fridge is a great source of fresh food and good food. Some of the vegetables are coming from people’s gardens including the community garden close by right here in the neighborhood.”

Slowly, Codner says, word of mouth is getting out and more people are using the community fridge.

“I feel like the work we’re doing is gaining a lot of traction,” she says. “We’re focusing on community outreach and getting more donations. There should be more community fridges around. Hopefully, when all this dies down, we can get more people to recognize the problem and do more to help.”

In New York City, an estimated 1.4 million people, including one out of five children, rely on emergency assistance like food pantries and soup kitchens.

At BMCC, the Panther Pantry continues to provide food supplies to students who need it, and staff at the college volunteered to give out food when the pandemic was ratcheting up to its peak in April.

Codner quietly sets an example for providing service off campus, in neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic.

“No one should feel ashamed or have a problem asking for help when they’re hungry,” she says. “That’s a human right, the bare minimum. If ever I needed food, I would use the community fridge, too.”

 

 

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