Hunger crisis grows; food pantries can’t keep up with demand
An alarming number of food pantries and soup kitchens in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx are being forced to turn people away hungry, a new survey shows.
Demand for food pantries and soup kitchens has skyrocketed throughout New York City - growing by an estimated 20% this year, combined with an estimated 11% rise last year, according to an analysis conducted by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
Presently, 1.3 million New Yorkers - one in every six residents - cannot afford an adequate and consistent food supply and must rely on pantries and shelters, statistics show.
For its annual hunger survey, released this week, the nonprofit coalition polled 265 of the more than 1,200 charitable feeding agencies in the city.
The survey found that 76% of responding agencies in Queens said they didn’t have enough food to meet the rapidly increasing demand, and the case was the same for 67% in Brooklyn and 65% in the Bronx. By contrast, that figure was 36% in Manhattan and 29% on Staten Island.
Queens also had the highest percentage of responding agencies that reported having to ration food, cut back on hours of operation or send people away empty-handed.
In Queens, 67% of responding agencies said they’ve been forced to take such drastic measures, as well as 57% on Staten Island, 54% in the Bronx and 52% in Brooklyn. That number was just 30% in Manhattan.
Joel Berg, the coalition’s executive director, said the problems in Queens are partly the result of an inadequate social service system coupled with a fast-growing immigrant population.
But the startlingly high statistics citywide are evidence of the continued downward trend in the American economy, Berg said.
“We knew hunger was increasing when the economy was in good shape,” he said. “Now that the economy is taking a nosedive, we see hunger as one of the first indicators that there is a significant economic problem.
“When the economy gets a cold, lower-income people get pneumonia,” Berg added.
The troubling findings in the coalition’s report also reveal the devastating effects wrought by deep cuts in federal emergency food funding. President Bush has slashed discretionary spending for emergency food by 76% since 2002, including a $12 million cut this year, Berg said.
For people on the front lines in the battle against hunger, such significant losses in funding lead to painful and heartbreaking consequences.
“It’s been insane how much the resources have dropped,” said Christy Robb, director of the Hour Children Food Pantry of Long Island City, which serves several food pantries in the area.
SOURCE: NY Daily News
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