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Non-profit

Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council)

Website:

metcouncil.org/
Location:

New York, NY
Tax ID:

13-2738818
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $45,880,423
Expenses: $43,953,743
Assets: $65,351,514
Type:

Charity organization
Formation:

1972
CEO:

David G. Greenfield

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) is a New York City-based nonprofit organization that operates a network of nearly 200 food banks through which it feeds hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and seeks to lift impoverished New Yorkers out of poverty and hunger. 1 The Met Council has received extensive funding from local New York City grants, as well as state and federal grant money. 2 3 4

In September 2022, the Met Council was invited to a Biden White House event on hunger and poverty. During the event, the group presented its work as a model for the rest of the country to combat hunger. 5

Background

The Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty is the United States’ largest Jewish non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty and hunger. The Met Council’s food program alone serves an average of 200,000 people each month through its emergency food network of roughly 200 pantries. 1 6

The Met Council has several institutional partners, including the UJA Federation of New York, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Robin Hood, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, City Harvest, the Food Bank for New York City, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, and the Sephardic Foundation on Aging. 7

The Met Council is also the umbrella organization for 15 Jewish Community Councils throughout New York City. These agencies are located in neighborhoods with high Jewish populations and inform the Met Council about trends and needs for services in these communities. 8

Services

The Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty maintains a food pantry network through which it feeds on average 200,000 people each month across the New York metro region. 6 The Met Council also offers crisis services to help New York citizens face social, medical, financial, or food-related challenges. 9

The council also offers senior services, benefits access services, a Holocaust survivor program, family violence-related services, and affordable housing access. It also has a Brooklyn Hub, a community support network for those struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. 10

White House Event

In September 2022, the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty officials attended a Biden White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, with the goal of showing how the Met Council’s work, particularly its digital food pantry technology that serves 50,000 people each month in New York, might be effective on a national level. In response to the White House invitation, Met Council CEO David Greenfield said that hunger is “really a public policy choice at the end of the day.” 5

Leadership

David G. Greenfield is the chief executive officer and executive director of the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty. Greenfield was a New York City Council Member for eight years, during which time he authored nearly 30 pieces of legislation that were signed into law by Mayors Michael Bloomberg (I) and Bill de Blasio (D). Greenfield passed legislation mandating affordable housing, reforming the landmarks preservation process, and providing free security guards for over 100,000 private school children. He also chaired the New York City Council’s Committee on Land Use from 2014 through 2017, overseeing the Department of City Planning, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. He was also a member of the City Council Speaker’s leadership team and the Council’s budget negotiation team. Before serving on the New York City Council, Greenfield was executive vice president of the Sephardic Community Federation. He was also the founding director and counsel of TEACH NYS, advocating on behalf of parents of New York State’s 500,000 Catholic, Jewish, and independent schoolchildren. His work led to legislation providing $600 million in tax credits to parents of all school-age children. Greenfield received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and his bachelor’s degree from Touro College in New York City. 11

Joseph S. Allerhand and Benjamin Tisch are co-presidents of the Met Council board of directors. Richard Mack is chair of the board. 12

Finances

In 2022, the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty reported $40,457,341 in total revenue, $37,491,410 in total expenses, and $73,703,808 in total assets. That year, the Met Council received $5,790,111 in government grants (14 percent of its total revenue). 13

In 2023, the Met Council received a grant of $18,000 from Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL)-NY. 4

In 2020, the Met Council received a $106,250 grant from the New York City Council after being named to the city’s Community Advisory and Services Team (CAST) in the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. 2 14

In 2021, then-New York City Council Member Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn) donated $118,500 from his discretionary budget to the Met Council even though it was not in his district. 15

In 2022, the Met Council received an emergency grant of $500,000 from the UJA-Federation of New York Jewish to help the Met Council distribute food to over 170,000 people this High Holiday season. 5

In 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced that over $40 million had been awarded to 102 food service organizations across the state through the New York Food for New York Families program, of which the Met Council received $2 million. 3

In 2024, the Met Council received a city grant for its “Intimate Partner and Family Abuse Services” and “Social Services Program.” 16

In March 2025, Governor Hochul announced more than $2.1 million in awards to 43 faith-based and not-for-profit organizations through the New York State Office of Faith and Nonprofit Development Services to improve public access to essential technologies, of which the Met Council received $41,253 in grant money. 17

References

  1. “About Us.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/about-us/
  2. Boigon, Molly. “NYC cuts funding for hate crime prevention initiative.” Forward. July 27, 2020. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://forward.com/news/451598/nyc-cuts-funding-for-hate-crime-prevention-initiative/
  3. “Governor Hochul Announces Over $40 Million in Awards to Organizations Across the State Through New York Food for New York Families Program.” Governor, New York State. November 20, 2023. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-over-40-million-awards-organizations-across-state-through-new-york
  4. “Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders Vocal Ny Inc – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/134094385/202500279349301380/full
  5. Henry, Jacob. “After feeding New York’s Jewish poor, a nonprofit will head to White House food summit.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. September 23, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2025.  https://www.jta.org/2022/09/23/ny/after-feeding-new-yorks-jewish-poor-a-nonprofit-will-head-to-white-house-food-summit
  6. “Food Pantry Network.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/services/food/
  7. “About Us – Our Partners.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/about-us/
  8. “Jewish Community Council Network.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/jcc-network/
  9. “Crisis Intervention Services.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/services/crisis-intervention-services/
  10. “Our Services.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/our-services/
  11. “Our Leadership – David G. Greenfield.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/our-leadership/
  12. “Our Leadership.” Met Council. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://metcouncil.org/our-leadership/
  13. “Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council On Jewish Poverty – 2022 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132738818/202421369349301142/full
  14. “Community Advisory and Services Team.” NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. September 2021. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nyc.gov/site/stophate/initiatives/cast.page
  15. Karr, Larisa. “Council Member Alan Maisel gives over half of discretionary funding budget inside his own 46th district.” Haitian Times. March 30, 2021. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://haitiantimes.com/2021/03/30/council-member-alan-maisel-gives-over-half-of-discretionary-funding-budget-inside-his-own-46th-district/
  16. “Here’s the Funding Coming to the UWS In the 2025 NYC Budget: Local Roundup.” West Side Rag. July 4, 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.westsiderag.com/2024/07/04/heres-the-funding-coming-to-the-uws-in-the-2025-nyc-budget-local-roundup
  17. “Boosting Accessibility: Governor Hochul Provides More Than $2 Million for Office of Faith and Nonprofit Development Services to Bolster Technology Resources Statewide.” Governor, New York State. March 25, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/boosting-accessibility-governor-hochul-provides-more-2-million-office-faith-and-nonprofit
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 1973

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Jun Form 990 $45,880,423 $43,953,743 $65,351,514 $43,222,310 N $44,420,493 $1,358,308 $29,215 $1,129,286
    2021 Jun Form 990 $47,513,181 $40,843,591 $56,489,415 $36,286,891 N $44,027,232 $1,311,413 $32,428 $830,730
    2020 Jun Form 990 $33,342,302 $28,540,215 $52,595,729 $39,062,795 N $31,826,121 $1,264,571 $36,253 $777,038 PDF
    2019 Jun Form 990 $19,349,353 $19,882,113 $43,716,117 $34,985,270 N $17,877,947 $1,144,346 $32,316 $678,640 PDF
    2018 Jun Form 990 $19,148,475 $30,636,662 $43,261,321 $33,997,714 Y $17,333,830 $1,149,713 $187,389 $1,038,703 PDF
    2017 Jun Form 990 $17,771,459 $22,209,865 $52,038,799 $31,287,005 N $16,342,935 $1,264,648 $154,113 $1,085,661 PDF
    2016 Jun Form 990 $18,862,147 $22,967,482 $53,435,246 $28,245,046 N $16,116,485 $1,734,237 $145,732 $1,123,032 PDF
    2015 Jun Form 990 $28,130,139 $30,698,440 $61,468,286 $32,673,015 N $20,840,298 $2,019,847 $143,185 $1,185,982 PDF
    2014 Jun Form 990 $38,855,965 $39,529,625 $62,725,288 $31,871,974 N $32,317,864 $2,069,886 $182,205 $1,358,101 PDF
    2013 Jun Form 990 $43,924,750 $37,860,929 $41,287,926 $14,714,796 N $38,280,080 $4,660,272 $5,963 $1,977,900 PDF
    2012 Jun Form 990 $26,433,204 $26,109,803 $32,244,265 $11,734,956 N $24,067,624 $1,436,342 $9,499 $1,926,524 PDF
    2011 Jun Form 990 $33,805,848 $27,139,155 $31,179,203 $10,993,295 N $24,411,807 $1,241,626 $29,825 $1,893,898 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council)

    1 STATE ST FL 24
    New York, NY 10004-1561