Met Council, which operates America's largest kosher food bank, has opened a $25 million warehouse and conference center in Canarsie, establishing a permanent base for its food distribution operations and expanding its capacity to serve food-insecure New Yorkers, according to the JewishStar.
The 22,000-square-foot facility, located at 5361 Preston Court, opened Monday, Oct. 26.
It is the largest capital project in the 54-year history of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and will serve as the central distribution hub for the organization's 344 pantry partners, supplying kosher and halal food to communities across New York City.
“This is an extraordinary facility. It is beautiful, thoughtfully designed and built to serve New Yorkers for generations,” Greenfield said. He credited the board of directors, private donors and public funders with making the project happen.
The opening comes as demand for food assistance continues to grow. In fiscal year 2026, Met Council distributed more than 20 million pounds of food and provided food assistance and social services to approximately 350,000 New Yorkers, including families, seniors and Holocaust survivors.
The new warehouse is equipped with expanded cold storage, modern racking systems and technology designed to improve food distribution. Artificial intelligence tools will help forecast demand, while barcode scanning, real-time inventory tracking and route optimization are expected to reduce waste and speed up deliveries.
A digital food pantry will also serve Canarsie residents, allowing them to order groceries online and select fresh produce, proteins, dairy products and pantry staples for collection at the facility. The service is designed to provide greater choice while improving access to affordable food in a neighborhood where fresh groceries can be difficult to find.
The facility will also support Met Council's medically tailored meal and grocery programs for eligible Medicaid recipients, its National School Lunch Program serving 144 schools, and home-delivery services for Holocaust survivors and homebound seniors.
In addition, the building houses the Jewish Communal Fund Conference Center, which will host training sessions, coalition meetings and gatherings involving food pantry partners, nonprofits and government agencies.
Funded through a combination of city, state, federal and private contributions, the center will support year-round food distributions, including programs for Thanksgiving, Passover, Ramadan and Eid al-Adha. Its expanded storage and distribution capacity is intended to help Met Council respond to growing food needs across the city.
