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WEST SIDE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY LIFE
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 710908184 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE O50 · Youth Development · Large ($10M-$50M) · wscah.org
revenue
$12.5M
expenses
$13.1M
net assets
$8.7M
employees
34
volunteers
2,944
program ratio
84%
mission · from form 990

TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER BY ENSURING THAT ALL NEW YORKERS HAVE ACCESS WITH DIGNITY TO A CHOICE OF HEALTHY FOOD AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.

profile · synthesized from sources

West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH) works to alleviate hunger by ensuring New Yorkers have dignified access to healthy food and supportive services. The organization operates food distribution programs—including mobile pantries, home delivery, and a digital choice platform—while connecting individuals to SNAP and healthcare benefits. WSCAH also leads advocacy and collaborative initiatives like The Roundtable to strengthen the emergency food system across New York City.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $744K
    BENEFITS ACCESS PROGRAM:WSCAH'S BENEFITS ACCESS TEAM CONNECTS CUSTOMERS TO A COMPREHENSIVE SUITE OF BENEFITS, INCLUDING SNAP AND HEALTH INSURANCE SIGN-UPS, TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS. OUR TEAM CONNECTED MORE THAN 1,600 FAMILIES TO THESE VITAL SUPPORTS, SECURING OVER $3.5 MILLION IN SNAP BENEFITS.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Benefits Access Program
Connects customers to SNAP, health insurance, and other essential benefits, securing millions in assistance annually for low-income families.
Digital Choice Pantry
Enables customers to select their preferred food items and pickup locations via mobile phone, with plans to expand access through AI-powered voice systems.
Food FARMacy
Partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital providing twice-monthly home delivery of healthy food to 1,000 patient households with young children or older adults.
Mobile Food Pantry
Brings healthy food and support services directly to neighborhoods with high food insecurity across all five NYC boroughs through partnerships with community organizations.
The Roundtable: Allies for Food Access
Citywide coalition of pantries, soup kitchens, and advocates that shares resources, engages in bulk purchasing, and conducts collective advocacy to strengthen the emergency food system.
activities · 7 groups

What they do

  • Food Policy Advocacy & Nutrition Education 2 activities
    • Advocating for improved food security policies and program standards
      Advocates for policies that improve the emergency feeding system, including increased resources for frontline providers and expanded access to SNAP and other benefits. Successfully advocated for fresh produce inclusion in the Community Food Connection program and secured essential worker protections and vaccine access for emergency food staff during the pandemic.
    • Producing public education content on food insecurity
      Produces the "Hangry for Change" podcast series to discuss food insecurity, public benefits, and policy issues, including episodes on new SNAP work requirements and their impact on food-insecure New Yorkers.
  • Food Distribution and Hunger Relief 2 activities
    • Operating a mobile and citywide food distribution network
      Expanded access to healthy food across all five NYC boroughs through 65 mobile food pantry access points, increasing reach to underserved communities. The 2024 warehouse expansion supports broader citywide distribution capacity.
    • Operating client-choice food pantries and home delivery programs
      Distributes over 5 million pounds of healthy food annually through a 13,000-square-foot warehouse, a client-choice pantry at 86th Street with monthly pickups Tuesday–Friday, community-based organizations, and home delivery services. Provides free, fresh groceries including produce, protein, whole grains, and low-fat dairy to tens of thousands of New Yorkers.
  • Public Benefits Navigation and Enrollment 1 activity
    • Assisting with enrollment in SNAP, healthcare, and other public benefits
      Helps thousands of families annually enroll in SNAP, healthcare, Fair Fares Metrocards, and provides referrals for legal support and affordable housing. IRS-990 data confirms the organization connected over 3,500 families to benefits and secured nearly $5 million in assistance, including nearly $4 million in SNAP benefits.
  • Community Health Equity Initiatives 1 activity
    • Conducting research on food insecurity and health outcomes
      Conducted research in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Medical Center demonstrating reduced food insecurity, improved childhood obesity risk factors, and increased healthy food intake among participants in nutrition support programs.
  • Volunteer Engagement and Capacity Support 1 activity
    • Engaging volunteers and supporting SNAP ABAWD work requirements
      Engages over 32,000 volunteer hours annually to support food distribution services and operates as a Self-Enrolled Volunteer Service Provider (SEVSP), enabling eligible SNAP ABAWD recipients to fulfill required volunteer hours at its Washington Heights warehouse.
  • Refugee and Immigrant Resettlement Services 1 activity
    • Funding transportation and migrant support services through grants
      Awards shared grant funding to support services for incoming migrants delivered by partner organizations such as the Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, and provides funding to community groups for additional transportation costs linked to increased food distribution during emergencies.
  • Community Capacity Building & Leadership Networks 1 activity
    • Leading and strengthening the emergency food provider network via The Roundtable
      Founded and leads The Roundtable: Allies for Food Access, the first and only collaboration of frontline emergency food providers in NYC. Strengthens the emergency feeding system by uniting pantries and soup kitchens to enable bulk purchasing, reduce system-wide costs, share information, and provide technical assistance to smaller partners.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$12.47M
Contributions & grants$9.12M73%
Program service revenue$3.16M25%
Investment income$249K2%
Other revenue$-66K
expenses
Total expenses$13.07M
Program expenses84%
Admin / overhead6%
Fundraising10%
Salaries & benefits$3.31M
Grants paid out$5.82M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$22.41M
Cash$7.60M
Investments$0
Liabilities$13.72M
Net assets$8.69M
Liquid reserves7.0 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue +4.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 4
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
GREGORY SILVERMAN CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $342K
ALYSON ROSENTHAL CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER 40 $215K
JOHN LEBRETON CHIEF FINANCIAL & PEOPLE O 40 $206K
RACHEL LAIBSON CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER 40 $204K
board members · 21
  • AJ BOSCO — VICE CHAIR
  • ANDREW TOMBACK — DIRECTOR
  • BETH RUBIN — DIRECTOR
  • BINU VARUGHESE — DIRECTOR
  • CONNIE CODDINGTON — DIRECTOR
  • DAVA SCHUB — DIRECTOR
  • DAVID GOLDBERG — DIRECTOR
  • DAVID ROSE — TREASURER
  • DOUG SATZMAN — DIRECTOR
  • GRIFFIN LOCKETTE — DIRECTOR
  • IRVIN ROSENTHAL — DIRECTOR
  • JACOB HADJIGEORGIS — DIRECTOR
  • JAMES MELCHIORRE — SECRETARY
  • JOE BRUSCO — DIRECTOR
  • JULIA TULLOCH — DIRECTOR (THRU JAN 2025)
  • KAREN SONET-ROSENTHAL — DIRECTOR
  • LINDA BARRINGTON — DIRECTOR
  • LISA MILES-BOYCE — DIRECTOR
  • MARIA LIZARDO — DIRECTOR
  • MARTHA MORTON — DIRECTOR
  • MARTINA SANTOS — DIRECTOR
relationships · 13

Who they work with

  • 311 Government — Refers individuals to 311 for information on accessing food in their neighborhood.
  • Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew Partner — Received shared grant funding to support services for incoming migrants.
  • Columbia University Medical Center Partner — Partners with WSCAH on health research related to food insecurity and nutrition outcomes.
  • NYC Human Resources Administration Partner — Collaborates on discussions about SNAP benefits and food insecurity.
  • NYC Human Resources Administration Partner — Collaborates on public education about SNAP work requirements and access to food benefits.
  • New York Cares Partner — Partner organization that manages volunteer sign-up and coordination for WSCAH opportunities.
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Partner — Collaborates on the Food FARMacy program to deliver healthy food to food-insecure patients.
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Partner — Partners with WSCAH to provide home delivery of food to patients, specifically families with young children and older adults.
  • The Roundtable Network — Network of pantries, soup kitchens, and advocates across NYC that WSCAH convenes to strengthen emergency food systems through shared resources and advocacy.
  • The Roundtable: Allies for Food Access Network — Founding member, host, and leader of the network of nine large emergency food providers in NYC.
  • The Roundtable: Allies for Food Access Partner — Collaborative network of frontline emergency food providers co-founded and led by WSCAH to advocate for policy change.
  • USDA Government — Engages with USDA policy decisions affecting SNAP-authorized retailers and food access.
  • West Side Center for Community Life, Inc. Network — DBA name for West Side Campaign Against Hunger
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Client-Choice Model
    methodology: client_choice_model
    By allowing clients to select their own food items through a digital platform and customer-choice pantry model, the organization increases dignity, autonomy, and engagement in food access, because empowering individuals to make their own choices leads to higher utilization and reduced waste.
  • Cross-Sector Collaborative Network
    methodology: collaborative_network_model
    By building partnerships among government, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and frontline organizations, the organization amplifies impact and drives systemic change, because coordinated action across sectors improves efficiency, advocacy power, and sustainability in addressing food insecurity.
  • Food-Is-Medicine Integration
    methodology: food_is_medicine
    By distributing medically-tailored food through healthcare partnerships, the organization treats nutrition as a clinical intervention to improve patient health outcomes, because integrating food into medical care addresses social determinants of health more effectively.