The city of New Rochelle is determined to make sure no resident goes hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicole Pirraglia-Piparo owns the popular New Rochelle restaurant Mini’s Latin Fusion. After COVID-19 struck her community, she looked for ways to give back to the community. She says she thought what better way to do that than feeding people.

She’s been donating food to seniors at Hope Community Services, and she just joined forces with the city of New Rochelle on an innovative initiative directly aimed at helping those in need.

MORE: City of New Rochelle website

The program is called Nourish All, and it started after the city received some big donations from local developers to help the city.

The mayor used the money to buy gift cards from local restaurants and then started giving them out to community agencies on the front lines of aiding the underserved in the city . The goal is to consistently feed 1,000 people for the next few months.

Pirraglia-Piparo says she is thrilled to be part of Nourish All because it will help her business stay afloat.

"It benefits everyone," she says. "It keeps my staff busy. It helps keep me open and it serves the people that can’t afford to eat right now."