SL Green Launches “Food1st” Charity to Provide Food Assistance and Re-Activate Restaurant Kitchens

SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG), Manhattan’s largest office landlord, today announced the formation and launch of “Food1st”, a non-profit foundation to be organized as a 501(c)(3), to deliver thousands of meals daily to front-line, first responders and medical personnel, elderly New Yorkers and food insecure families. In addition to addressing the increasing demand for food assistance across New York City, Food1st will also help revitalize New York City’s food and beverage industry by re-activating restaurant kitchens, to serve the City and bring restaurant staff safely back to work. SL Green has contributed $1 million as a down-payment to the independent organization in the hope that other companies, organizations and individuals will join the effort to address this crisis.

“The vision for Food1st is to partner with our tenants -- beginning with the great, Chef Daniel Boulud -- to provide meals to those who need them, safely bring food workers a paycheck and restore vitality and energy to the City we love,” said Marc Holliday, SL Green Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “By establishing and seeding the Food1st non-profit, we hope others will join us in the fight to alleviate the food shortage in New York City caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."

The initiative will work in partnership with Chef Boulud, who will open a new restaurant at SL Green’s One Vanderbilt later this year, and add other restaurants and non-profit organizations to ensure the widest possible preparation and distribution of food. The effort will launch this morning from Boulud’s downtown prep kitchen and initially provide up to 1,600 meals per day to New York City’s frontline medical workers as the City continues to battle COVID-19. A second phase, scheduled for next week, will include additional SL Green tenants and partners to reach New York’s most food insecure populations. In turn, this will re-activate the kitchens of some of SL Green’s food and beverage tenants, with the goal of preparing and delivering more than 150,000 meals funded by SL Green’s initial grant. Heightened safety precautions and protocols will be in place at all participating kitchens to ensure the health of all involved.