NYC nonprofit Heart of Dinner combating rise in loneliness among older Asian-Americans with love
It is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and CBS News New York is highlighting the growth of the nonprofit Heart of Dinner.
Heart of Dinner's mission
It was started back in 2020 by partners Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai out of their Lower East Side apartment. They started cooking and hand-delivering culturally appropriate meals for elders amid a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
The couple jumped into action after watching a news story from February 2020.
"We saw video of an elderly gentleman in Oakland, California who was collecting bottles," Heart of Dinner co-founder Chang said. "He was robbed of his cans and his bottles and you could see that he was having trouble communicating what he was trying to say and he broke down crying. We couldn't help but recognize that kind of pain."
At one point, they say they delivered up to 1,200 meals. The care packages are packed with nutritious ingredients in thoughtfully decorated bags and they come with hand-written notes in the recipient's native language.
"Yin would be staying up all night writing, 'We love you,' 'We're thinking of you,'" Tsai said.
"It's a feeling of being seen and also knowing that you don't need to prove yourself. You just exist as you are and you're so loved and so accepted," Chang added.
Dozens of volunteers and expansion
Today, five years after its inception, there are around 50 volunteers that gather at four packaging sites across New York City on Wednesdays, and some of them have become a comforting face to the seniors they serve.
Those sites include donated spaces like the Essex Market on the Lower East side and La Marqueta in East Harlem.
"We packed a hot meal for our elders; some vegetables, carrots, tofu, just something to get them through the week," said Anthony Tran, a volunteer with Heart of Dinner in East Harlem.
The co-founders say all meals are purchased from local Asian-owned, or female-, or LGBTQIA+-owned businesses.
The care packages are delivered by groups walking with carts, and drivers.
"I am going to all over Williamsburg, Bay Ridge," said Bershal Brown, a contracted driver for Heart of Dinner.
CBS News New York's Lisa Rozner asked him if this is the highlight of the week for the recipients.
"Yeah the doors are open before I even get there, the doors are wide open," Bershal said. "[They're like], 'Come in, come in, come in.' I'm like, 'I can't stay.'"
Chang says the nonprofit is serving around 700 elders at this moment, and hopes to expand to Staten Island later this year. The recipients are found either through social service agencies or social media.
In January, they extended the operation to California to help people impacted by the wildfires.
Volunteers don't have to be in person. The co-founders say off-site and around the world, people send in hand-written notes and personally-decorated bags for the care packages.
At Pier 57 in Chelsea, the James Beard Foundation recently held an AAPI bake sale where guests could come to a table to decorate bags for Heart of Dinner.
"It's so emotional just getting to meet our elders"
CBS News New York was there when the co-founders delivered a package to a 91-year-old man in East Harlem, who says he has trouble walking.
He came to the door before they could even knock, and in Mandarin told them, "We are so full of gratitude to you all."
"I feel like every time we do a delivery it's so emotional just getting to meet our elders," Tsai said.
"I think my eyes were definitely welling," Chang added. "The way that he kept expressing his gratitude where it feels like we are the ones who are so grateful for this opportunity."
The co-founders say around 75% of Heart of Dinner's operations are funded by donations. The rest are through companies who participate and provide grants.
