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PHOTOS AND VIDEO: NO KID HUNGRY AND SCHOOLS FIRST DEPUTY CHANCELLOR HONORED “NYC HUNGER HEROES”AND FOOD EDUCATION CHAMPS
After feeding nearly 1 million NYC students each day, dedicated cafeteria workers and educators are recognized for going above and beyond
Photos and B-Roll can be found here
NEW YORK – On Monday, No Kid Hungry New York joined Schools First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg to recognize 38 “NYC Hunger Heroes” and Food Education Champions – extraordinary professionals in City schools who have gone above and beyond to serve 800,000 nutritious meals to students every day. Cafeteria workers from each school district and food program staff received awards for going above and beyond to fight child hunger.
These 38 workers, dedicated cafeteria staff who directly serve 800,000 meals to students every day, are on the frontlines of combating hunger in New York City Public Schools. For the second year, the 2025 honorees included 14 food education champions that educate students on how to make nutritious choices and develop lifelong healthy habits.
This year’s Hunger Heroes include District 26’s Francisco Rodriguez, who stepped up during an unexpected gas outage to provide kids with hot, nutritious meals at MS 67, and District 29’s Edward Artemus, who teaches his PS 176 students the importance of composting and recycling in the cafeteria.
No Kid Hungry New York’s 2025 poll showed worrying signs of hunger rising in the city, with 52 percent of households reporting taking on additional debt due to the rising cost of food. With more than 270,000 children in New York City facing hunger—one in four kids—these heroes who plan, prepare and serve school meals, are on the front lines of the City’s hunger crisis.
“Dedicated cafeteria staff can change the lives of hundreds of kids in a school each day. They often know each student’s name and favorite foods, and provide a friendly face alongside a nutritious meal,” said Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York. “These awards are our way of recognizing those Hunger Heroes who go above and beyond, oftentimes behind the scenes, to feed students – and the lifelong impact they’re having on our families and our communities.”
“From feeding our communities during the pandemic to making sure our youngest New Yorkers have nutritious meals, our food service workers are some of the most dedicated individuals in our city,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “I am honored to have the chance to celebrate today’s hunger heroes, and I thank them on behalf of school communities across the city for their dedication to our students.”
School meal programs play a critical role in ensuring kids get three healthy meals a day while also helping families stretch their food budget. In 2017, New York City expanded no-cost school meals to all students in all schools.
2025 NYC Hunger Heroes
Manhattan
- District 1: Nicole Genao
- District 2: Margarita Almonte
- District 3: Carol Cobos
- District 4: Cecilia Freytes
- District 5: Kwanmane Brown
- District 6: Ruth Duran Ramirez
Bronx
- District 7: Teofilo Duran Garcia
- District 8: Nuvia Norales
- District 9: Philistia King
- District 10: Stephen Ali
- District 11: Derrick Peart
- District 12: Maureen Anderson
Brooklyn
- District 13: James Adams
- District 14: Michelle Bailey
- District 15: Leonel Mercedes
- District 16: Aldona John
- District 17: Calvin Forde
- District 18: Everton Pinnock
- District 19: Margarita Nunez
- District 20: Malka Jehan
- District 21: Anna Matera
- District 22: Stephenie Hunte
- District 23: Joy Thomas
- District 32: Yolanda Castillo
Queens
- District 24: Rosa Astudillo
- District 25: Ronny Carvajal
- District 26: Francisco Rodriguez
- District 27: Caresta Martin
- District 28: Chrisula Sartzetakis
- District 29: Edward Artemus
- District 30: Josephine Spatola
Staten Island
- District 31: James Durazzo
Central Office & Inspections
- Sherif Ibrahim
- Jacqueline Mills
- Kecia Brown
- Richard Singh
- Peter Fu
- Elaine McGill-Diggs
2025 Food Education Champions:
- Andrea Arist Neequaye
- Lauryn Arena
- Able Jackson
- Susan Achorn
- Julie Chau-Lau
- Deannie Duncanson
- Eileen McManus
- Robert Markuske
- Lou Lahana
- Angela Everett
- Regina DiBella
- Daniela Roebuck
- Cynthia Kennedy
- Janelle Devine
About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.
