The Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty Food Pantry will serve the Brooklyn neighborhood of Ocean Hill-Brownsville.
The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and WNBA’s New York Liberty share a home in Barclays Center. Now, three miles down the road in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, they share something even more significant than a professional arena.
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, P.S. 12 and M.S. 484 became home to the teams’ shared effort to serve the community: The Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty Food Pantry presented by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).
According to a press release, 32% of the neighborhood’s residents face food insecurity. The pantry “will be stocked with non-perishable food and household items” and will provide “the necessary support to distribute free groceries and means on-site.”
Albert King, drafted by the then-New Jersey Nets at 10th overall in the 1981 NBA draft, was present for the ceremony along with students from P.S. 12 and M.S. 484.
“As members of the Brooklyn community, we feel a responsibility to help ensure that all residents have access to their basic needs, including food,” New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said in a statement. “We know that food insecurity disproportionality affects BIPOC and low-income families for a myriad of reasons. In partnership with the Nets and HSS, the Liberty hope to play a small part in alleviating a big issue.”
The Liberty, Nets and HSS previously teamed up to stock a pantry at P.S. 308 for 10 months last year, serving 7,000 people, 44% of whom were children, across 10 months.
In an effort to reach as many people as possible, the new Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty Food Pantry “launched a donation campaign with Food Bank for New York City” that will run through June.
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