There are good vibes for a good cause as volunteers decorate bags for meals that will go to Asian seniors later this month.
"There's, like, a new life and energy that comes into it because we've been kind of stuck in the cold," Brian Pham said.
What You Need To Know
- Meals for Unity holds pop-up meal distributions for older Asian New Yorkers each month
- Brian Pham co-founded the organization after seeing a video of violence against an older Asian woman in his neighborhood
- The band of more than 50 volunteers distributes food at community centers once or twice a month
Pham is the co-founder of the nonprofit, Meals for Unity. The organization has distributed thousands of meals to Asian seniors.
"As long as we can, like, be out there and, like, help somebody like, who needs a meal, like, that's really important," Pham said.
It started when videos of an older Asian woman being assaulted on the Upper West Side surfaced in 2021. Pham, who is Vietnamese-American, lived next door.
"Just thinking about my grandparents who are who have now passed away,” Pham said. “Thinking of, like, being in their shoes, like, really, I don't know, made me feel like I had to, like, help out in some way.”
So Pham asked his friends and family for donations to purchase some meals.
They responded by sending him enough money to cook for 800 people — eight times his goal.
"I was so overwhelmed and just grateful for people wanting to give back to the community," Pham said.
They used the leftover money to do it again and again and recruited local restaurants to whip up culturally sensitive meals for Asian elders.
"It's continuing to be able to be that kind of center beacon for them that they can look forward to, and hopefully help provide for anyone who does need that support."
Now the band of more than 50 volunteers distributes food at community centers once or twice a month. Each of the bags has a handwritten note in English and Chinese.
Pham spends 15 unpaid hours a week working on logistics. It’s all to provide dignified meals to Asian elders and to build relationships.
"The sharing of food just shows love. And for us to be able to do that for these elderly, in our community and give them that, like, meal is us giving them a piece of our heart to them," Pham said.
For sharing these meals of unity with Asian seniors, Brian Pham is our New Yorker of the Week.
