• Community Offshore Wind is increasing access to fresh, healthy, sustainable seafood in underserved communities.
• In partnership with New York and New Jersey-based seafood processors, Community Offshore Wind supports local fisheries and fishermen in New York and New Jersey by donating over 2,500 pounds of fresh, frozen fish and 10,500 cans of clam chowder. 

This holiday season, Community Offshore Wind will donate over 30,000 meals of wild-caught, locally sourced seafood from fishermen and seafood processors to food pantries in Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Staten Island, and Syracuse. In total, Community Offshore Wind will distribute more than 2,500 pounds of freshly frozen, Long Island-sourced fish and 10,500 cans of New Jersey-sourced clam chowder.

Community Offshore Wind understands the importance of local fisheries to the region and recognizes that not all families have access to fresh, sustainable, healthy seafood. This donation was informed by the New York State Disadvantaged Communities Barriers and Opportunities Report, released in December 2021, which lists access to fresh food as a barrier for underserved communities.

“Many cultures gather around the holiday table for a seafood meal. To celebrate this cultural diversity across the state, and increase access to fresh seafood, we connected with the region’s commercial fisheries to source a sustainable catch that supports both the seafood industry and our communities,” said Pat Johnson, Vice President and Deputy Project Director of Community Offshore Wind. "Supporting fisheries from New York and New Jersey benefits local economies by creating and maintaining jobs for fishermen, processors and wholesalers.” 

“Throughout the year and especially at the holiday time is when we see an increase in visits to our food bank of those who struggle with food insecurity, and we rely on high quality donations from the community,“ said Tom Neve, Founder & Executive Director, Reaching-Out Community Services. “We are grateful to be able to partner with Community Offshore Wind, so that we can provide fresh, local seafood to the people we serve. It is not every day that we can offer fresh seafood, so it feels like special addition for the holidays.”  

Seafood supplier LaMonica Fine Foods produced clam chowder with local surf clams at a discounted rate, and Aqua Best sourced fresh seafood from Long Island fishermen to provide the fish fillets. Both suppliers were instrumental in helping Community Offshore Wind provide for New Yorkers. 

“Our company was excited to have the opportunity to partner with this project to support our local fisheries and produce high quality fillets at the holidays for the communities that need it most,” said Steven Wong, owner of Aqua Best. 

Seafood deliveries will be made at the following locations:

• Catholic Charities of Staten Island 
• City Harvest – Brooklyn  
• FeedMore Western New York - Buffalo  
• Food Bank of Central New York - Syracuse  
• Island Harvest Food Bank – Long Island  
• Reaching-Out Community Services – Brooklyn  
• Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York – Albany  
• Regional Food Bank/Food Bank of the Hudson Valley (FBHV) – Cornwall-on-Hudson 
• South Shore Community Food Pantry – Staten Island

Community Offshore Wind is developing offshore wind in the New York Bight between Long Island and New Jersey. When complete, the project has a potential capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW), enough to power more than one million homes. The joint venture is named after its dedication to uplift communities and deliver local, clean energy for all. To learn more about Community Offshore Wind, visit www.communityoffshorewind.com.

Community Offshore Wind’s dedication to improving marine ecosystems and achieving sustainable outcomes in New York and New Jersey is an extension of its volunteer efforts earlier this year working to rehabilitate Long Island oyster habitats with the Rotary Club of Huntington and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Marine Program to help boost water quality. Volunteers from Community Offshore Wind also collected more than 900 pounds of garbage and debris at Earth Day cleanups at Spring Creek Park in Queens with the Littoral Society and at Lido Beach with the Marine Rescue Center.

This donation is the latest community project for Community Offshore Wind. Previous projects include a partnership with Foundation to Blade to fund training for minority and women-owned businesses to enter the offshore wind supply chain, a partnership with Hudson River Community Sailing to teach young people about wind power and partnering with the YMCAs of Long Island and Greater New York to offer swim lessons to children in underserved communities.