ALBANY - Non-profit organizations are continuing to load and distribute food and water to shelters and New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy. Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the National Guard with FEMA will deliver one million meals and bottled water to New Yorkers. Delivery to parts of Lower Manhattan, affected areas in Brooklyn and Queens, including the Rockaways started today.

“We are working with local community groups to deliver as much food and water as we can to New Yorkers who need it most,” Governor Cuomo said. “New York has one of the largest and most sophisticated non-profit sectors in the country and as we recover from Hurricane Sandy, this sector will be a critical partner.”

The governor visited the National Guard food distribution site at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan, New York, Thursday afternoon.  The National Urban League, the Coalition Against Hunger, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, the Bowery Residents’ Committee, the Grand St. Settlement, and the Henry Street Settlement helped load and take food back to shelters in different parts of Manhattan.

Other groups including, Friends of Firefighters, Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation, Project Hospitality, and Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, are coordinating to help distribute food to other parts of New York City.

A post-Sandy survey of non-profits found that nearly half of 400 non-profits who responded to the survey expect an increase in the number of people seeking help due to the storm. Nearly 40 percent of these organizations plan to shift their focus in response to needs resulting from the storm.