Local biz donates 10,000 bagels to La Jornada food pantry

Representatives from La Jornada, Bagels By Bell, the Queens Chamber of Commerce and Reil Capital joined Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and Rep. Grace Meng (not pictured) to celebrate a donation of 10,000 bagels to the food pantry.  Photo courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

By Jacob Kaye

A local food pantry was the recipient of a 10,000 bagel donation earlier this week.

La Jornada, a food pantry that expanded during the COVID-19 crisis, welcomed a shipment of 10,000 bagels donated by Bagels By Bell and Reil Capital on Monday, Sept. 28.

The food pantry welcomed the shipment at their Flushing location inside the Bland Houses. Rep. Grace Meng, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech were on hand to celebrate the donation.

“It’s been a really tough year, not just for America, but especially here in Queens,” Meng said. “I want to thank Bagels by Bell and Reil Capital for their support for our community and for helping to feed so many families.”

The donation came together when Ian Samlin, the CEO and founder of Reil Capitol, decided he wanted to give back to families affected by Hurricane Ida. He called up the owners of Bagels By Bell and was connected with Grech. Together, they arranged the donation.

Samlin said he was most impressed by La Jornada and the work that they do.

“Walking inside and seeing what they do in a week is crazy,” Samlin said. “The fact that they can donate to 10,000 families a week, all sorts of food, and feed over 30,000 people is just really remarkable.”

La Jornada is located at 133-36 Roosevelt Ave., and appointments can be made by texting “food” to 726879.