Charles Gabriel (left), the founder of Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, and Chief Operations Officer Chef Quie Slobert (right) chat with people in line for free meals at Saint Joseph’s Church in Harlem. (Credit: Anna Lee)
With more than 40 million American recipients of federal food benefits facing funding cuts, a group of New York chefs and restaurateurs has started to offer free meals. At their own expense, the restaurants Field Trip Harlem and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken have provided hundreds of free meals to people with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards.
Funding for SNAP continues to be impeded by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. In court filings on Nov. 3, the Trump administration acknowledged that it would provide only half of the normal SNAP aid given to recipient households, using $4.65 billion from a contingency fund. However, it remains unclear when SNAP’s tens of millions of recipients, including around 3 million New Yorkers, might see those partial benefits.
When he learned about the government shutdown’s impact on SNAP funding, food influencer Mike Schulte reached out to and formed a partnership with the founder of the Field Trip restaurant, Chef JJ Johnson.
“I make a living off of food. So, if I can’t do something with food to give back, then shame on me,” Schulte said. For each remaining Monday in November, Schulte will oversee distribution of 100 free meals to SNAP recipients, working in collaboration with multiple restaurants in the city: Gunther’s in Ridgewood on Nov. 10, Belaire Diner in Astoria on Nov. 17, and Aloha Alley in Dumbo on Nov. 24.
After opening Field Trip’s doors at 11 a.m.on Nov. 3, staff at Field Trip Harlem welcomed SNAP recipients to request any menu item they wanted. A standard bowl at Field Trip averages $14.46, meaning the 100 free bowls could have cost the restaurant roughly $1,500 (not accounting for bags, cutlery, and other expenses).
“We don’t want them to feel that they’re different from anyone else who walks through the door,” Johnson said. While Field Trip had no donor support, some community members have pitched in to help. One customer bought 50 bowls in an online order, writing in a comment to the restaurant, “Use this towards SNAP.”
Johnson opened Field Trip in 2019 to provide affordable rice bowls to Harlem residents, a mission that he wanted to extend to people who rely on federal food benefits.
“Harlem people are the backbone of New York. They work in the MTA, they’re schoolteachers and guidance counselors … they are the beat of New York City. We can’t leave those folks behind,” Johnson said.
Chef JJ Johnson talks with a SNAP recipient in line at Field Trip Harlem. (Credit: Anna Lee)
New York state and city officials have also introduced emergency financial support to food pantries. On Oct. 31, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state administration would fast-track upwards of $100 million for food banks and pantries, many of which have already reported surges in need and turnout, according to The New York Times. New York City Mayor Eric Adams also declared a $15 million emergency funding response to city-funded food programs on Oct.30.
On Nov. 3, staff at Charles Pan-Fried Chicken welcomed hundreds of SNAP recipients across two locations. Along with the founder, Charles Gabriel, COO of Charles Pan-Fried Chicken and creator of Cooking with Shirley’s Son, Chef Quie Slobert, announced on Instagram that the restaurant would provide 200 free meals at Harlem’s Church of Saint Joseph at 4 p.m.. When Slobert received several direct messages from people saying they couldn’t make the 4 p.m. time, he created a 5 p.m. slot at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, where he provides Sunday School breakfast.
“The biggest flex is to give back,” Slobert said during one of the several errands he ran between the two churches.
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken provided more than 600 meals in total, funded entirely out-of-pocket by Slobert’s company Cooking With Shirley’s Son, and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken. The two groups incurred a $7,584 cost in food alone, not accounting for transportation costs from the restaurant, and complimentary take-out packaging.
“These [events] cost us financially, but it’s what we should do,” said Slobert.
Along with staff at Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, Slobert and Gabriel received hands-on help from the Thurgood Marshall Academy girls’ basketball team. After the original group that was meant to help cancelled on him, Slobert called Shawn Thornton, coach of the team, to ask for assistance. Thornton, who could not call back on his own phone because he was not able to pay his phone bill, said, “I was sure I made that call.” He found a landline phone and told Slobert: “‘we’re there.’”
Players on the girls’ basketball team, along with their coaches, packed take-away containers with fried chicken, baked ziti, cornbread, and string beans. Slobert ensured that meals went to SNAP recipients and people without homes, many of whom did not have a SNAP card. The team also provided extra food to many people in line. When one woman, pregnant with twins, came into Saint Joseph’s, Slobert provided three plates — “one for each of them,” he said.
Along with Gabriel, Slobert will keep the effort going by providing 200 meals every Monday and Thursday at Saint Joseph’s until the end of the year, or until SNAP benefits return to normal. Slobert also welcomed requests for upcoming menus, asking a group of people in line, “Tell me what you want.”
There have been historical instances in New York City of restaurateurs and chefs feeding the community when government assistance became unreliable. During the Great Depression, health advocate Bernarr MacFadden used his philanthropic fund to open the first one-cent restaurant in New York. People could purchase a meal for one cent, and a five-course meal for five cents.
Most New Yorkers who rely on SNAP reside in New York City, at about 1.8 million recipients. Normally, SNAP provides around $424 million in food assistance to people in the city each month, according to a 2025 report from the New York State Comptroller. In total, Field Trip and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken supplemented a modest estimate of $9,000 to SNAP recipients in one day alone — which could supplement a SNAP household of eight for over five months, or an individual SNAP recipient for over two-and-a-half years.
Besides Field Trip and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, other restaurants across New York City — and the nation — are providing free meals to SNAP recipients in their vicinity. With the holiday season approaching, millions of Americans are still facing delayed or only partial food benefits. Chefs, restaurant staff, and community members continue to help when they can.
“I’m gonna do what I can do,” Slobert said. “I’m gonna affect my bubble.”
About the author(s)
Anna Lee is a general assignments reporter based in New York and Boston. They are currently reporting on environmental legislation and criminal justice reform.