SNAP cuts, pantry surge
City food banks feeling strain
Despite a booming economy, 80% of city food pantries and soup kitchens across the city say they have seen “elevated traffic” over the past five years, according to a new report issued by a charity umbrella group.
The Food Bank For New York City says the need for emergency food has gone up primarily due to steep federal cuts in 2013 to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The program provides an average benefit of $146 per person each month and covers 1.6 million city residents.
The scaling back of the food stamp program — which came when the federal stimulus bill expired — has cost New York City residents more than $1 billion in possible benefits, according to the report.
At the same time, the average price for food has gone up 27% across the city over the past five years, according to the Food Bank report.
“This is causing a strain on our network, and the impact is being felt on the doors of our soup kitchens and pantries citywide,” the report says. “There is a greater burden on a smaller number of charities.”
The report was based on an annual survey of 597 food pantries and 138 soup kitchens in the city.
Cash-strapped city food pantries continue to operate on a shoestring budget, the report added. They only have an average of one full-time paid staffer and five volunteers, the report says. All told, 54% reported running out of food on a given day, and 29% said they were forced to turn those in need away at some point last year.
They serve some of the most vulnerable populations, including seniors, families with children and immigrant families.
The areas in most need in each borough are: Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans in Queens; Canarsie and Flatlands in Brooklyn; Belmont, Crotona Park East and East Tremon in the Bronx; Central Harlem in Manhattan; and Port Richmond, Stapleton and Mariners Harbor in Staten Island.