Storm-Canceled Concert’s Food Ends Up Feeding Sick New Yorkers Instead of Going to Waste

A nor’easter that battered New York over the weekend forced organizers to cancel the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, but the tons of food prepared for the event didn’t go to waste. It was donated instead to God’s Love We Deliver, a charity that provides free meals to critically ill New Yorkers.

The Saturday concert, which was to be hosted by Hugh Jackman and feature Lenny Kravitz, Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, was scrapped once the storm’s path made holding the event impossible.

Greg Williamson, founder of the annual benefit concert Love Rocks NYC, told the New York Post he got a call Friday morning from David Beame, one of the Global Citizen Festival’s producers.

“He said that they had food for thousands of people, and the last thing they wanted was for any of it to go to waste,” Williamson said. “He asked me about God’s Love and if they could help.”

Williamson contacted God’s Love We Deliver, and the organization quickly moved to rescue the food. Whatever it couldn’t use itself was passed along to other groups that feed hungry residents.

God’s Love We Deliver was founded in 1985 during the height of the AIDS pandemic. It delivers medically tailored meals, free of charge, to thousands of New Yorkers who are too ill to shop or cook for themselves.

The Global Citizen Festival, launched in 2012, is held annually in Central Park each September alongside the United Nations General Assembly, raising money and awareness for climate change and global poverty.

Williamson’s own Love Rocks NYC, which he co-founded, has raised more than $70 million for God’s Love We Deliver over the years through its annual benefit at the Beacon Theatre. This year’s lineup included Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Linda Perry, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, and Susanna Hoffs.

Williamson, a Douglas Elliman executive who also co-founded Soho Sessions, called the outcome a rare bright spot from the storm.

“It was a very cool moment where great people and great organizations came together to help New York City,” he said.