Feed Your Mind – and Your Stomach – at The New York Public Library All Summer

JUNE 27, 2012 — This summer, learn about lunch at the Library, then do lunch at the Library.

To highlight its new exhibition Lunch Hour NYC , The New York Public Library has collaborated with Bryant Park Corporation, the New York City Food Truck Association and Dispatch NY, a food truck production company, to bring a rotating line-up of food trucks to the public plaza on Fifth Avenue at 40th Street outside of the landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

Weekdays beginning June 27 and continuing through Labor Day, one truck from the Association will park on the 40th Street side of the plaza, selling lunch from approximately 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A portion of sales will go towards Bryant Park – which manages and maintains the plaza – and The New York Public Library.

Participating NYC Food Truck Association trucks include Mexicue (Mondays), Red Hook Lobster Pound (Wednesdays), Rickshaw Dumplings (Thursdays), and Eddie’s Pizza (Fridays). Tuesday’s truck is to be determined. Schedules may vary, and updates will be posted at exhibitions.nypl.org/lunchhour and will be Tweeted (@nypl, @lunchhournyc, and @nycfoodtruck).

The food trucks add to the lunch options already available at The New York Public Library. Since February, patrons have enjoyed sandwiches and snacks at two 'wichcraft cafés, located on the first and second floors of the Schwarzman Building. In honor of Lunch Hour NYC, these 'wichcraft locations will be selling peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for $3 during the run of Lunch Hour NYC. This Friday, June 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 'wichcraft will be offering free samples for Library visitors.

These special partnerships have been organized in connection with the Library’s free exhibition Lunch Hour NYC, which opened in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on June 22 and uses items from across the Library’s collections to tell a series of compelling stories about the midday meal and its history in New York City.

Organized in four thematic sections — quick-lunch, lunch at home, charitable lunch, and power lunch — Lunch Hour NYC reveals how the city's pace and people have influenced where and what we eat. From kitchen tables to cafeterias, oysters to Jamaican beef patties, the changes in lunch reflect demographic shifts, economic development, and the city's historic appetite for new foods.

“We’re incredibly pleased that these food trucks will now be part of the exhibition – or at least just a short walk away,” said food historian Laura Shapiro, who co-curated the exhibition with NYPL culinary librarian Rebecca Federman. “Street food has always been right at the heart of lunch in New York, and today’s food trucks are a direct link to the past as well as a great taste of the present.”

David Weber, founder and president of the NYC Food Truck Association and Dispatch NY, said, “We are thrilled and honored to partner with the Library and Bryant Park to bring a new amenity to midtown Manhattan and to help call attention to the Library’s exhibition, which explores the history of lunch and the early pioneers who set the table for the food trucks of today.”

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a non-profit, free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond, operating 90 libraries—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. The Library system offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org.

About The New York City Food Truck Association

The New York City Food Truck Association (NYCFTA) is an association of small businesses that own and operate premium food trucks in NYC focused on innovation in hospitality, high quality food, and community development. The Association aims to reinvent food truck vending in a way that is beneficial to New Yorkers, New York City, food truck entrepreneurs, and their patrons. Find more information about the NYCFTA at http://www.nycfoodtrucks.org or on Twitter at @nycfoodtruck.

About Dispatch NY

Dispatch NY is an event production and lot coordination company that is developing a city-wide network of mobile food lots to provide an alternative to street vending for aspiring hospitality entrepreneurs. Learn more on the web at dispatchny.com.

About Bryant Park Corporation

Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), a private not-for-profit company, was founded in 1980 to renovate, finance, and operate Bryant Park in New York City. BPC is funded by income from events, concessions, and corporate sponsors, as well as an assessment on neighboring properties, and does not accept government or philanthropic monies. In addition to providing security and sanitation services, and tending the park's lush lawn and seasonal garden displays, BPC provides public amenities and activities, including movable chairs and tables, café umbrellas, restaurants, food kiosks, world-class restrooms, and a wide range of free events throughout the year. The Midtown park, conveniently located at 6th Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, is visited by over 6 million people each year and is one of the busiest public spaces in the world.  BPC’s website, http://www.bryantpark.org, is available for more detailed information and a schedule of upcoming events.