Volvo VNR Electric trucks, with battery-electric refrigeration, are replacing diesel trucks on City Harvest’s routes through the Bronx, the borough with the highest levels of food insecurity and poverty in New York City.

The service area includes the Hunts Point neighborhood, which absorbs more than 15,000 truck trips a day. The new trucks will support a 25% increase in the amount of food City Harvest will provide to the Bronx this year.

Volvo VNR Electric Trucks Delivered

Volvo Trucks North America and the Bronx Is Breathing project team handed over three new trucks to City Harvest and hosted a ride-along event Sept. 24 at the Fulton Fish Market Cooperative in Hunts Point, New York. The event marked 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.

Volvo VNR Electric Replacing 3 Diesel Trucks

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. We are proud that these new electric trucks will support that crucial mission with cleaner, quieter operations," said Keith Brandis, head of policy and regulatory affairs, North America, Volvo Group's Trucks Technology & Industrial Division. "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 New York City

City Harvest said nearly 50% of working-age 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 take effect, City Harvest will scale up its 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.”

The Hunts Point community in the Bronx sees more than 15,000 truck trips on an average workday, with approximately 12% of all food distributed to New York City coming from the Food Distribution Center, one of the largest wholesale distribution centers in the world.

Shift To Zero-Emission Trucking to Improve Air Quality

The Bronx is Breathing project builds on that work by addressing 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.

“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.”

Charging Infrastructure at Fulton Fish Market

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.

$10 Million 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.

“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,” said Doreen M. Harris, NYSERDA president and CEO. “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.”