God's Love We Deliver

God's Love We Deliver We cook & home-deliver 4M+ medically tailored meals/year to NYers living w/ severe & chronic illness
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The mission of God's Love We Deliver is to improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition. We prepare and deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to people who, because of their illness, are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves. We also provide illness-specific nutrition educat

ion and counseling to our clients, families, care providers and other service organizations. All of our services are provided free of charge without regard to income.

09/11/2026

Yesterday, God’s Love We Deliver staff hand-delivered our brownies and thank you cards to our local first responders who showed up for us twenty-five years ago. We were proud to support them with meals and a place to rest then, and we were honored to thank them on this 25th anniversary of September 11.

"In September 2001, I was a relatively new employee at God's Love We Deliver, managing information technology for the or...
09/11/2026

"In September 2001, I was a relatively new employee at God's Love We Deliver, managing information technology for the organization. I was living in the West Village at the time.

September 11 happened to be my day off.

I was getting ready to rollerblade along the Hudson River waterfront and down toward Battery Park when news reports began showing a plane striking one of the World Trade Center towers.

At first, it seemed impossible to comprehend.

I remember calling my mother in Arkansas as I tried to understand what was happening. The images didn't make sense.

Rather than stay home, I decided to walk to our offices. As I made my way toward Spring Street, the situation continued to unfold. News reports became more alarming, and information spread rapidly through the city.

When I arrived, people were already gathering, trying to absorb what was happening.

One image has never left me: streams of people began making their way uptown from Ground Zero. So many were covered in dust. They looked stunned. Others were walking in silence.

Seeing those crowds transformed the disaster from something happening on television into something deeply personal and immediate. The crisis wasn't occurring somewhere else. It was happening right outside our doors.

That day changed New York forever, and it changed all of us who lived through it. God’s Love We Deliver was an integral part of keeping New York City cared for and loved, and I am honored to have been a part of our efforts in the days and weeks after. It became one of my proudest moments working here and I will never forget it."

- David Cholcher, staff member

"I came to God’s Love We Deliver in the late 1980s, at a time when HIV/AIDS was devastating my community. I had lost at ...
09/11/2026

"I came to God’s Love We Deliver in the late 1980s, at a time when HIV/AIDS was devastating my community. I had lost at least fifteen of my closest friends to AIDS. We were experiencing death in our twenties. Like so many others, I was searching for a way to respond to unimaginable loss, and I found that purpose at God’s Love.

When I joined God's Love, I watched it grow from a small operation in a church basement to our SoHo building. Along the way, we expanded our mission beyond HIV/AIDS and evolved from delivering hot meals to preparing medically tailored frozen meals.

The AIDS crisis and September 11 were two defining moments of my life. HIV/AIDS was an intimate tragedy that touched every corner of my life. September 11 was different. It was a global crisis.

In September 2001, I was living in Tribeca, just three blocks from the WTC.

When my husband and I tried to return home, debris covered the streets and police would not allow us into our loft. I remember having to explain to the NYPD that my husband needed access to his HIV medications. Eventually, after staying with friends for several days, we returned home because we wanted to be part of rebuilding our community.

Within days, God’s Love was preparing and delivering thousands of meals. We made sure food reached the people who needed it most. It remains one of the moments I am most proud of. We see a need, and we act.

One of the most important lessons I have learned is that when you are experiencing grief, you have to fight back. And fighting back means giving back.

Today, God’s Love We Deliver is stronger than anything we imagined in those early days. God’s Love has always been about more than meals. It is about community, dignity, and love. Whether during the AIDS epidemic, after 9/11, or in any crisis that follows, the lesson remains the same: when grief finds you, the best way forward is to give back. That is how we heal. That is how we honor those we have lost."

Richard Feldman, former Board Co-Chair and current Trustee

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

"9/11 is still a very vivid day for me. The sky was an unusually clear blue, the air very clean but the weather reporter...
09/10/2026

"9/11 is still a very vivid day for me. The sky was an unusually clear blue, the air very clean but the weather reporters told us it would be a rather hot day.

I was on the express bus from Brooklyn heading to my job at God's Love We Deliver as an Intake Specialist in Manhattan on Spring Street. The bus was approaching the World Trade Center as traffic seemed to come to an unusual stop. Papers and other items seemed to be floating around us. Someone said “Here we go again, a fire.” Instead, a police officer approached the bus and told us to get out.

The natural thing to do (as people were standing around gasping and screaming) was to look up. The WTC was burning. The police screamed at us to run and we all headed east towards the East River.

Everyone was screaming, crying, and running. I found a lady who said she worked in the building but can’t reach her husband. I told her I worked not far at GLWD, and to come with me so we would try to use the landline. As we were walking, we turned and so many people were coming uptown with us.

We reached safety at GLWD. For safety reasons, the doors were locked. But the front desk saw me and let me in (covered in dust). I told them the lady was with me and the Nutrition Services department let her use the phone.

I went upstairs to Client Services where I worked. We all hugged and cried as they were worried about me. I was so happy to be with them.

GLWD did not stop for a second, always taking care of those that needed. They wanted to make sure staff and volunteers were safe first and foremost.

Those who could went home. Emergency provisions were made for clients. Whatever items like canned tuna, peanut butter, and meals on hand were given to ER workers.

God's Love never stopped - with arms out, with love and kindness. With the destruction and smell of ash all around us, God's Love continued our mission with resourcefulness, care, and love, as best we could."

- Marianne Ettisch-Mikulka, former staff member

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

"I walked to God's Love We Deliver on 9/11 and saw one of the planes flying low along the Hudson on its path to the WTC....
09/10/2026

"I walked to God's Love We Deliver on 9/11 and saw one of the planes flying low along the Hudson on its path to the WTC. In the office, we watched events unfold from the windows and became tasked to locate staff and, most significantly, the whereabouts of the drivers in their vans.

A few days after the tragedy I joined staff in a van to deliver sandwiches to the responders/rescuers. The smell and quality of the air around Ground Zero was oppressive. I was struck by the bravery of the individuals on the scene. I was very proud to be part of God's Love We Deliver on that day. The mission didn't stop with 9/11, it found a way to respond as it always has with nourishment for those in need."

- Paul Pierson, former staff member

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

"On September 11, I was on Long Island, packing up the house where I had spent the summer. Someone called and asked whet...
09/10/2026

"On September 11, I was on Long Island, packing up the house where I had spent the summer. Someone called and asked whether I had seen the news. I knew I had to get back to God's Love We Deliver as soon as I could.

The next day, I left for Manhattan at 6 p.m. I had never reached Grand Central so quickly. When I arrived, NYPD officers were checking cars.

The following day, I was back with GLWD. Soon after, Executive Chef Keith Berg and I tried to travel below 14th Street, but the area had been closed. We were able to gain access after I showed them a brochure naming me as a co-chair of GLWD and Keith as our head chef.

From that day forward—and for many days afterward—we worked in the kitchen making sandwiches for Ground Zero workers and anyone else who needed food.

That Thanksgiving remains especially vivid. We assembled two baskets filled with food from God’s Love. Alan Levin, who also served on the Board, and I carried them to the firehouse at Houston Street. While we were there, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: a firefighter had been found at Ground Zero. It was heart-wrenching. We thanked them for all they had done and left.

God’s Love tried to do everything it could. To serve as a resource and care for our clients and volunteers, workers, first responders, and the wider community.

We rose to the occasion. I was truly proud of everyone: the volunteers, the staff, and all those who came together to help."

- Sylvia Vogelman, former Board Co-Chair and volunteer

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

"I began working at God's Love We Deliver in 1997. By September 11, 2001, I was working in Community Outreach. I absolut...
09/10/2026

"I began working at God's Love We Deliver in 1997. By September 11, 2001, I was working in Community Outreach. I absolutely loved it.

That morning, I went uptown to the Ralph Lauren store to rally employees for the Race to Deliver. Soon after someone told me to take a call. It was Dorella Walters from Client Services telling me to come back.

I ran to 72nd and Madison and got what I believe was one of the last taxis heading south. The driver flew down the FDR Drive.

God's Love felt like like mission control. Before communications came down, phones were ringing nonstop. Radios crackled. People were running around working to ensure that our staff, volunteers, and clients were safe. Yet amid the chaos, they were calm, focused, and organized. In my mind, the image of Pat, Larry, Bill Smith, and Naomi Wilkins that day is like a carefully choreographed ballet.

The next day, Bill drove me downtown. We established a food distribution site at a former Pathmark supermarket.

I remember Ombuds Officer Jim Konetsky working tirelessly to contact clients who might miss deliveries. With others, he helped solve an impossible problem: How do we continue feeding vulnerable NYers when much of downtown is inaccessible?

In the weeks that followed, I returned to my work with a renewed sense of purpose. The Race became more important than ever. And NYC responded! New Yorkers knew how much our clients and their families needed them.

One lighter memory remains with me as well. Chuck's brownies became an enormous hit with firefighters and recovery workers. I remember Blaine Trump handing them out and hearing myself say, "Take another!" channeling my Italian grandmother.

25 years later, I'm still in awe of the people who were there and who remain committed to this mission. When I think about colleagues like Dorella and Pat and all those who spring into action without a second thought, I'm reminded that the spirit of service we witnessed on 9/11 continues every day at God's Love."

- Rich Cardillo, former staff member

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

"On the morning of September 11, I was getting my parents ready to leave for the airport. I was then supposed to meet wi...
09/10/2026

"On the morning of September 11, I was getting my parents ready to leave for the airport. I was then supposed to meet with Berg, our head chef at God’s Love. But neither of these things happened.

I took the subway as far downtown as I could and then walked the rest of the way to God’s Love We Deliver. People were streaming north on Sixth Avenue looking absolutely stunned.

We decided to open our doors. Anyone who needed water, food, a place to sit, or simply a moment of safety was welcome to come inside. We took some of the food we had prepared to the fire station near us.

Later that night, we went downtown and brought food to the people working near Ground Zero.

It was the saddest day I can remember.

But even in the middle of that devastation, there was something beautiful about the way people responded. God’s Love did not stop. People kept chopping vegetables. They kept cooking. They kept asking what else they could do.

In one way, it was the worst of times. In another way, I saw New Yorkers lead with kindness and love. People dropped everything and asked, “How can I help?”

It took time before we could begin delivering meals again because bridges were closed and the city was so difficult to navigate. But I was so proud of God’s Love because we continued on. If anyone needed food and we could get to them, we would.

I can still see all those people walking up Sixth Avenue. There are no words to describe how everyone felt. Twenty-five years later, that image remains with me.

I worked in the kitchen. I went downtown. I hugged people when they needed a hug. I watched our staff and volunteers rise to the occasion with extraordinary compassion.

I was, and still am, so proud of God’s Love We Deliver. In the face of fear, grief, and uncertainty, we rose to the occasion. We opened our arms, fed whoever we could reach, and reminded people that they were not alone."

- Blaine Trump, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors

This week we are sharing stories from staff and volunteers who were with God’s Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days after. Please return for more stories.

09/09/2026

Earlier today, God’s Love joined UNIITE For Good at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to pack meals alongside volunteers from across New York City, and Mayor Mamdani! (Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani )

Service has always been at the heart of God’s Love. Every day, our volunteers show up for our neighbors by chopping, packing and delivering meals with care. This year, we’re proud to join 9/11 Day in honoring the 25th anniversary of September 11 through service and acts of good.

You can be part of it, too. Sign up to volunteer at God’s Love and count your shift as your good deed for UNIITE For Good.

"I was working in the Finance department at God’s Love We Deliver on September 11, 2001.That morning, many of us gathere...
09/09/2026

"I was working in the Finance department at God’s Love We Deliver on September 11, 2001.

That morning, many of us gathered in the third floor conference room. From there, we could see one of the World Trade Center towers.

We watched in disbelief.

At first, it was difficult to understand what we were seeing. Then the situation grew worse by the minute. Eventually, the tower disappeared from view, replaced by an enormous cloud of smoke and dust.

The following day, the entire staff pitched in. People from every department gathered in the kitchen making sandwiches and preparing food for first responders and recovery workers. Titles and job descriptions no longer mattered. We were all doing whatever was needed.

Like many nonprofits in the city, God’s Love faced so much uncertainty. Donations slowed dramatically, and after several weeks many of us were laid off temporarily. I volunteered with the Red Cross during October before eventually returning to God’s Love in November.

One of my strongest memories from that time is my subway commute.

New York is usually loud and energetic. But after September 11, the trains felt different. There were few tourists. There was little laughter. Cars that were normally crowded and noisy became strangely quiet. People treated one another with a level of respect and understanding I had never experienced before.

One day, a paramedic stood up and addressed an entire subway car. He explained that he was alive only because he had run in one direction while his paramedic partner ran toward danger. His partner was never seen again.

You could have heard a pin drop.

That moment captured what those weeks felt like. Everyone was grieving. Everyone knew someone whose life had been changed forever. And everyone carried those stories with them wherever they went."

This week we're sharing stories of staff and volunteers who were with God's Love We Deliver on 9/11 and the days, weeks, and months after. Please return here for our next features and read all stories here: https://www.glwd.org/blog/remembering-9-11-twenty-five-years/

Address

166 Avenue Of The Americas
New York, NY
10013

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12122948100

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