November 24, 2025 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

SUNSET PARK — THE FDNY EMS Station 40 in Sunset Park was busy on Sunday making sure firefighters and other first-responders will have enough to eat in time for Thanksgiving. The Met Council, the nation’s largest free distributor of kosher and halal foods, delivered care packages of Thanksgiving meal supplies which included turkeys, stuffing mix, corn, green beans, carrots, pumpkin, cranberries and yams, as well as everyday nonperishable goods.

But this month, because of the longest federal government shutdown in history that resulted in the suspension of SNAP benefits, even the Met Council needed help restocking.

Councilmember Justin Brannan (standing to left of sign, wearing black and tan jackets) helped coordinate the first responder Thanksgiving food giveaway on Sunday.
Photo courtesy Met Council

“Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Jane Goldman and the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust, families across New York, including our city’s first responders, will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year,” said Met Council CEO David G. Greenfield. “When our warehouse was nearly depleted because of SNAP cuts, the Goldman Trust stepped in at the exact moment New Yorkers needed them most and made sure no one was left behind.”

More than 120 distribution sites have been set up to serve over 100,000 people this Thanksgiving holiday season.