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Health & Fitness

Midnight Run Brings Breakfast To New York City's Homeless Poor Every Weekend

In addition to nightly deliveries of clothing, donated goods and food to New York City's homeless poor, Midnight Run organizes Saturday and Sunday breakfast runs for each week of the year. Breakfast is provided to the homeless beginning at 8 or 9 a.m.

Local volunteers for Saturday or Sunday programs are welcome to join and anyone interested in participating can contact executive director Dale Williams at the organization's headquarters in Dobbs Ferry, NY. 

Unlike the evening runs when vans move about from location to location making deliveries, the weekend vehicles visit only one location and stay for a full hour, Williams said. Flyers distributed on Friday and Saturday nights provide the time and location for the breakfasts. 

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Weekend volunteers provide their own vehicles and bring card/folding tables for food placement. Children in fourth grade or higher are permitted to participate and can help distribute the food. Other needs of the homeless such as seasonally appropriate clothing and toiletries can be filled once breakfast is over.   

New volunteers train for participating in the programs by first accompanying experienced crew members on their runs.

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What's for breakfast?  

Typically a breakfast run provides enough food to feed 75 or more people during the summer and 40 to 60 in the winter. Food is wrapped in individual (single serve) portions and items that have been cooked should be suitably packed to retain warmth.

"Volunteers are free to choose whatever food they want to bring," Williams said but he advised that sandwiches be held back from distribution until the very end so they can be taken for lunch.

Suggested summertime breakfast items include scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, pancakes, ham, sausage, bacon, oatmeal, pastries, Danish, bananas, oranges, juice, milk, and coffee. At this time of year, cold cereal is acceptable as an adjunct too. 

Midnight Run has been providing help to the homeless through evening trips for 29 years. The Sunday breakfast program was added about 14 years ago. Saturday morning runs began about three years ago.

More than 150 groups and organizations, including churches, synagogues and schools, support Midnight Run’s efforts. 

Typically during evening runs, the first drop-off time is around 10 p.m. with drops continuing to about 1 a.m., hence the name “Midnight Run.”  

To learn more about Midnight Run or to volunteer your services, contribute goods or make a donation, go towww.midnightrun.org, or call 914-693-7817.

Midnight Run is located at 97 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry and is open on Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

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