Volvo VNR Electric trucks, with battery-electric refrigeration, replace diesel on City Harvest's routes through the Bronx, the borough with the highest levels of food insecurity and poverty in New York City, including the Hunts Point neighborhood, which absorbs more than 15,000 truck trips a day.
The new trucks will support a 25 percent increase in the amount of food City Harvest will provide to the Bronx this year.
Volvo Trucks North America and the Bronx Is Breathing project team will hand over three new trucks to City Harvest and host a ride along event on Sept. 24 at the Fulton Fish Market Cooperative in Hunts Point, New York. The event marks the start of zero-tailpipe-emission Volvo VNR Electric trucks joining City Harvest's fleet, where they will power the organization's food rescue and delivery operations throughout New York City.
The Volvo VNR Electric trucks will replace three diesel vehicles in City Harvest's fleet. Each truck will be equipped with a battery-electric transport refrigeration unit enabling both driving and refrigeration to operate with zero-tailpipe emissions. City Harvest will use the trucks to rescue and deliver food throughout the Bronx and across all five boroughs, strengthening an operation that supports New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity.
"City Harvest rescues and delivers millions of pounds of food to New Yorkers in need every year," said Keith Brandis, head of policy & regulatory affairs, North America, Volvo Group's Trucks technology & industrial division. "We are proud that these new electric trucks will support that crucial mission with cleaner, quieter operations. The Bronx Is Breathing project shows how targeted infrastructure investment and community partnerships can accelerate the adoption of electric trucks in dense urban freight environments."
City Harvest's Mission in NYC
Nearly 50 percent of working-aged households in New York City are struggling to make ends meet, including one in five New Yorkers and one in four children in New York City. With historic cuts to critical funding, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, continuing to go into effect, City Harvest will scale up their operations to rescue 100 million pounds of high-quality food that would otherwise go to waste this year and deliver it to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other community programs in the Bronx and across the five boroughs. City Harvest's three new trucks are funded through the project and will support their increased food rescue and delivery operations in Hunts Point.
"City Harvest helped start the food rescue movement more than 40 years ago, and we are excited to now bring these innovative new trucks to the streets of New York City," said Jilly Stephens, CEO, City Harvest. "These trucks will support our work providing as much food as possible for New Yorkers in as sustainable a way as possible, at a time of critically high need in our city. By generously providing these electric trucks, Volvo and the Bronx is Breathing initiative enable City Harvest to further our environmental impact and to better serve the Bronx and our city."
Elected Officials Back Transition
The Hunts Point community in the Bronx sees more than 15,000 truck trips on an average workday, with approximately 12 percent of all food distributed to New York City coming from the Food Distribution Center — one of the largest wholesale distribution centers in the world.
At the same time, the Bronx has the highest rate of food insecurity and poverty in NYC, with 1 in 4 Bronx residents experiencing food insecurity and 31 percent of Bronx residents living in poverty. Elected officials representing the community are backing the shift to zero-emission trucking as part of a broader effort to improve air quality in a neighborhood long affected by transportation-related pollution.*
"The Bronx is Breathing project and the deployment of three electric Volvo trucks for City Harvest represent a vital investment in our transition to a clean-energy future and a healthier South Bronx," said José M. Serrano, New York State Senator. "This $10 million NYSERDA Clean Transportation Prize will help reduce the air and noise pollution that has burdened our community for far too long, while advancing cleaner and more sustainable transportation in Hunts Point."
The Bronx is Breathing project addresses one of the biggest challenges facing Hunts Point: how do we continue transporting food and goods through one of the city's busiest freight corridors while reducing the negative impacts that truck traffic, diesel emissions and noise pollution place on surrounding South Bronx communities.
Deploying three Volvo VNR Electric trucks for City Harvest is a strong example of what responsible investment looks like from stakeholders who understand their role in the communities where they operate. It is an investment that supports food rescue and delivery, advances cleaner freight technology, reduces emissions and improves quality of life for surrounding neighborhoods at the same time.
Bronx is Breathing Community Partners
The event is part of the Bronx is Breathing: Reimagining a Cleaner Hunts Point initiative, which brings together community and environmental organizations working to reduce truck emissions and improve public health in Hunts Point while expanding economic opportunity in the South Bronx.
"Transitioning medium — and heavy-duty fleets to cleaner technologies is one of the most important opportunities we have to reduce transportation emissions in New York City," said Joy Gardner, executive director, Empire Clean Cities. "Through the Bronx Is Breathing, we're demonstrating that these technologies can work in demanding, real-world operations — and we're especially proud to do that alongside a mission-driven nonprofit like City Harvest. This project shows the power of public-private collaboration to move zero-emission transportation from concept to deployment and build momentum for cleaner fleets and cleaner air across the City."
New York State Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian said, "The three new electric refrigerated food trucks at City Harvest demonstrate how the state's investments in clean energy can also support the food needs of New Yorkers. Increasing the number of zero-emission vehicles on New York City roadways is an investment in public health and cleaner air for our communities."
City Harvest will initially charge the vehicles at a new charging installation at the Fulton Fish Market Cooperative in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. Charging operations will later shift to a freight-focused public charging hub MN8 Energy is developing in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which will feature 32 DC fast chargers, including stalls for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks, plus 10 Level 2 chargers, when it becomes operational in 2029.
$10M Clean Transportation Award
The trucks are supported by a $10 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in partnership with the New York State Department of Public Service and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “The Bronx Is Breathing initiative demonstrates how investments in clean transportation can deliver meaningful benefits for communities while supporting essential services New Yorkers rely on every day. NYSERDA is proud to support putting these electric trucks into service for City Harvest, helping to reduce emissions and pollution in neighborhoods with significant truck traffic and ensure the cleaner, more sustainable delivery of nutritious food across the five boroughs.”
