Letting Love Win in New York City

Welcome to New York

“Everyone gets a hug.” 

Daniel Puerto, founder of Love Wins NYC, a queer-centric, volunteer-led organization helping combat food insecurity throughout the city, greets volunteers and community members alike with open arms, instantly making those he meets feel welcomed and valued.

MSC staffers met the team from Love Wins NYC, an MSC fiscally sponsored project, in Jackson Heights, Queens, in November. It was one of those perfect fall days that demands our collective admiration: “It’s so nice out!” “I don’t even need my jacket!” We were joined by volunteers old and new, including a group from Stonewall Community Foundation, which helps fund nonprofits focused on areas that advance queer liberation. One member of the Stonewall team referred to Love Wins as “one of our favorites.”

It was easy to see why.

VIVA La Heights

This bustling corner of Queens greeted us with the sounds of honking horns, the overhead train, and snippets of conversation in a half dozen languages. We met at VIVA La Heights, a gay bar and one of the organization’s two Queens distribution locations, on the morning of Nov. 1. Located in Jackson Heights, a vibrant, extraordinarily diverse, and LGBTQIA+-friendly neighborhood, the bar also serves as Love Wins’ main office. 

Inside, under a cover of spiderwebs, mummies, and bats that hinted at the previous night’s Halloween celebration, Puerto introduced everyone, shared the organization’s history and mission, and laid out the day’s agenda in both English and Spanish. Each time we convened, volunteers were encouraged to share in both languages, regardless of skill level.

Puerto, who was street homeless at age 14, became known and beloved throughout the neighborhood for doing outreach — and for “celebrating many 21st birthdays” in local bars. 

Love Wins NYC began as Love Wins Food Pantry in Jackson Heights during June 2020 — that first summer when we were all trying to grapple with COVID-19 and its effects on our lives. The pandemic, which was especially taxing to the local LGBTQIA+ community, found Puerto looking for a space where he could provide locals with access to fresh food. At that point, VIVA La Heights was a construction site. The partnership was a mutually beneficial deal: Love Wins got space, and the bar got the community support it needed to open. “It worked magically,” Puerto said. 

Four years (and a 2023 name change) later, this commitment to provide locals with access to high-quality produce during that summer filled with fear, anxiety, and social distancing has evolved into an organization that helps 30,000 people combat food insecurity annually — all on an operating budget of less than $150,000 (most of which comes in the form of grants restricted to food credits).

With seven distribution sites operating a total of eight pantries in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx each month, Love Wins provides locals with access to fresh, culturally relevant produce. The pantries operate both indoors and outdoors, with the latter occurring rain or shine, hot or frigid.

Puerto acknowledged that many of the community members the organization serves do not feel comfortable or safe visiting churches. Clients include LGBTQIA+ individuals, transender/gender non-conforming migrants, survival sex workers, and people battling chronic illnesses — groups that often face discrimination when seeking assistance at other organizations. With the exception of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church — the organization’s Harlem site run by LGBTQIA+ elders of color and parishioners — the pantries are operated out of community or senior centers or, in the case of VIVA La Heights, a bar. 

Serving Neighbors 

Before food distribution began around noon, we helped unload bags of produce from New York Common Pantry, then regrouped inside over coffee and doughnuts to get our assignments for the day: Two of our three-member MSC crew worked the distribution line, while one of us was partnered with a Love Wins regular to collect data (required by the city). Volunteers were offered bags of produce to take home, too.

Armed with iPads, we began checking in folks waiting in a line that was already down and around the block (community members often arrive as early as 5:00 a.m. to secure their spots). The diversity on the line was a microcosm of the city itself: We met people who spoke Spanish, Asian languages, Indian dialects, Russian, and more. We met seniors, adults, children, and babies. Some waited in line alone; others were accompanied by friends or family. Some were visiting the food pantry for the first time; others answered our questions before we even asked. Most had carts with them, while others had reusable totes. Children passed the time on bikes, with toys, and on phones. Some folks were bilingual, while others spoke no English at all. We got by using a mix of sign language and help from other community members in line.

Ruth Lopez manages the line with the precision of an air traffic controller and the compassion of your favorite teacher, troubleshooting as needed. Sometimes tensions arise — food insecurity is a scary, nerve-wracking thing — and Lopez was testing out a relatively new sticker system for placement in line. Her stickers corresponded to a numeric ordering system and would be distributed to those waiting in an effort to prevent line skipping. Lopez had arrived at 8:00 a.m. to four people who were already in line, “guarding” the food delivery and waiting for her. Despite the anxiety these individuals may have felt about obtaining food, this was a reminder of how much they love and respect the organization and its volunteers.

We met several food pantry veterans, as well as Robin Burnette, an LGBTQIA+ community member and first-timer like us. She got involved after she happened to walk by during a previous distribution day. An Ohio transplant, Burnette had taken Nov. 1 as a day off for volunteering through her employer.

Peter Gartland, a Jackson Heights local and regular volunteer told us, “the people in line are our neighbors.” He often sees the same individuals in the library, at the park, and while he’s out walking his dog.

Safe Harbor

Last year, Love Wins was the beneficiary of Stonewall’s Quarter Share grant, a giving circle for emerging leaders. Members make monthly donations specifically earmarked for the fund, which are then combined at the end of the calendar year. Stonewall receives 75% of the funds, with the remaining 25% — the quarter share — going to that year’s grantee. 

The theme for last year was “Safe Harbor,” focused on NYC-based organizations providing safe harbor for LGBTQIA+ people, particularly migrants. Stonewall’s Quarter Share Grants Committee, the volunteer panel that selects the annual theme and votes on the recipient, rewarded Love Wins’ efforts with $24,000.

In February 2024, Love Wins lost their ability to receive donations and make payments when their former fiscal sponsor closed its doors. Forced to cut staff and borrow money, Puerto cold-called MSC and spoke with Daniel Parada, our Oakland-based Director of Fiscal Sponsorship. At the time, MSC had put a pause on taking on new projects until we added staff and capacity. However, the two Daniels — Puerto and Parada — connected during the call. Parada pointed out that without Love Wins, hundreds of people may not get to eat that week. Thus began the Love Wins and MSC relationship.

Puerto, who previously worked with Make the Road New York and is currently employed by SAGE, has made it a point to create strategic partnerships between Love Wins and existing LGBTQIA+ organizations. Clients were able to receive COVID vaccines and HIV testing during food pantry hours. A community member had recently asked about domestic violence support, and Love Wins was able to provide the individual with resources.

Regalos

In April 2021, a massive fire ravaged a 133-unit apartment building on 89th Street in Jackson Heights. The electrical blaze, caused by an overloaded power strip, displaced over 500 residents and led to Love Wins’ inaugural Regalos year-end fundraiser. They collected and distributed new toys to children who had been affected by the fire (and also supported families, many of whom were displaced to shelters, with access to quality food). Over the last two years, they’ve distributed toys to children at the food pantries, and to a shelter in Queens. Children are able to choose their own toys, which are not sorted or labeled according to gender.

This year’s Regalos will be held Saturday, Dec. 14, at The Queensboro, a restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens. In addition to collecting new and unused toys, Love Wins has set a $10,000 fundraising goal. You can purchase tickets to the event or make a donation here. If you’re local and wish to donate unwrapped toys, you can visit one of four drop-off locations throughout the city through Dec. 18. Love Wins respectfully requests you refrain from contributing any toys that may incite violence, and shared several suggestions for toys by age group.

Respect and a Smile

Our day at Love Wins ended as it began: with hugs all around. Throughout the day, a common refrain was to smile, say hello, and ask folks how they were doing. Simple enough, but hugs, smiles, handshakes, and even eye contact are often lacking in the daily lives of many food pantry clients. Despite the diversity of ages, occupations, gender identities, and languages spoken, every interaction throughout the day was filled with dignity and respect. “Some of our constituency do not get a compliment,” Puerto said. He reminded us there was no need to rush people through the line. We had all afternoon to take care of the community, and doing so meant more than just handing out spinach and onions.