FOOD INSECURE HOUSEHOLDS IN NEW YORK CITY
208,590 PEOPLE ARE FOOD INSECURE IN NEW YORK COUNTY [1]
The number of people living in food insecure households decreased by 22 percent from 2012 to 2018.[2] The number of food insecure individuals is still 22 percent higher than it was in 2005-2007, before the recession.[3]
NEARLY 25 MILLION VISITS TO SOUP KITCHENS & FOOD PANTRIES
According to City Harvest, there were nearly 25 million visits to soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City last year, which is more than the total number of attendees at all NFL games across the country combined. [4]
FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS
1.4 MILLION NYC RESIDENTS RELY ON EMERGENCY FOOD PROGRAMS EACH YEAR,
including soup kitchens and food pantries.[5] Food pantries and soup kitchens fed 5 percent more people in 2018 than the previous year, compared to an annual increase of 6 percent in 2017, 9 percent in 2016, and 5 percent in 2015.[6]
1 IN 5 CHILDREN IN NYC RELY ON FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS
Approximately, 339,000 New York City children (one in five) rely on food pantries and soup kitchens, as well as one in six adult women, one in five seniors, and three out of every ten veterans that rely on food pantries and soup kitchens.[7]
34 PERCENT OF FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS WERE FORCED TO TURN PEOPLE AWAY
In a 2018 survey of 201 New York City food pantries and soup kitchens, 34 percent reported being forced to turn people away, reduce portion sizes, or limit hours of operation because of a lack of resources. This is compared to 38 percent in 2017, and 40 percent in 2016.
741 FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS IN NEW YORK CITY
The NYC Hunger Report 2018 from Hunger Free America surveyed 741 New York City food pantries and soup kitchens. The list was extracted from Hunger Free America’s database used to produce the Neighborhood Guides to Food Assistance.
From the survey, respondents reported that not enough food was distributed in order to meet current demand. This was reported by 30.4 percent of respondents in the Bronx, 38.1 percent in Brooklyn, 21.6 percent in Manhattan, 24.6 percent in Queens, and 55.6 percent in Staten Island.
In 2018, food pantries and soup kitchens in all boroughs had to turn people away, reduce food distributed per person, or limit hours because of a lack of resources. As reported by the Hunger Free America survey, 41.7 percent in the Bronx, 28.3 percent in Brooklyn, 36.7 percent in Manhattan, 32.7 percent in Queens, and 55.6 percent in Staten Island reported this lack of resources.[8]
FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS, BY THE NUMBERS
Difference resource guides provide differing totals of food pantries and soup kitchens in each borough. For its 2018 report, Hunger Free America surveyed 741 food pantries and soup kitchens. The Food Bank for NYC reports 535 food pantries and 128 soup kitchens (663 total). The FoodHelp.nyc campaign provides a map with 420 food pantries and 112 soup kitchens (532 total) across all five boroughs.[9]
When broken down by borough, based on Hunger Free America’s data:
- Bronx has 77 soup kitchens and food pantries
- Manhattan has 131 soup kitchens and food pantries
- Queens has 92 soup kitchens and food pantries
- Brooklyn has 118 soup kitchens and food pantries
- Staten Island has 37 soup kitchens and food pantries
According to the FoodHelp.nyc map:
- Bronx has 77 food pantries and 18 soup kitchens listed
- Brooklyn has 152 food pantries and 34 soup kitchens listed
- Manhattan has 75 food pantries and 37 soup kitchens listed
- Queens has 109 food pantries and 19 soup kitchens listed
- Staten Island has 17 food pantries and 4 soup kitchens listed.[10]
From the most recent New York City and State Hunger Report, many food pantries and soup kitchens are targeted to serve specific populations and food insecure households: [11]
- 117 are targeted to serve youth and adolescents
- 150 are targeted to serve seniors
- 91 are targeted to serve a medically-specific population (HIV, cancer, hospice care, etc)
- 135 are targeted to serve specifically on people who are homeless
- 132 are targeted to serve immigrants
- 122 are targeted to serve the LGBTQ community
COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
- Food Bank for NYC has worked for 35 years, providing 1,202,000,000+ free meals, serving 1,800+ charities, and giving more than 58 free meals per year to food insecure households. The organization’s website includes a map to find soup kitchens and food pantries as well as senior centers, SNAP enrollment sites, and free tax assistance sites.
- The Department of Social Services has a map of New York City’s food pantries and community soup kitchens across the five boroughs
- Hunger Free America’s Neighborhood Guides to Food and Assistance are produced yearly, detailing information on free food access in all five boroughs, including food pantry and soup kitchen locations, SNAP, WIC, school- and summer meal sites, and farmers’ markets that accept SNAP payments.
- This dataset of Emergency Food Assistance Programs (as of September 2019) includes food pantries and soup kitchens across all five boroughs, with phone numbers, addresses, and hours/days of operation.
- Foodpantries.org has a database of local food pantries, soup kitchens, food shelves, and food banks that can be searched by zip code.
- Street Smarts NYC has a map of free meals in Manhattan
REFERENCES:
[1] “Map the Meal Gap.” Feeding America, map.feedingamerica.org/county/2017/overall/new-york/county/new-york.
[2] Gibson, Angelica, et al. The Uneaten Big Apple: Hunger’s High Cost in NYC, New York City Hunger Report 2018.
[3] Gibson, Angelica, et al. The Uneaten Big Apple: Hunger’s High Cost in NYC, New York City Hunger Report 2018.
[4] City Harvest, www.cityharvest.org/facts-about-hunger/.
[5] “Research, Reports and Financials.” Food Bank for New York City, https://www.foodbanknyc.org/research-reports/.
[6] Gibson, Angelica, et al. The Uneaten Big Apple: Hunger’s High Cost in NYC, New York City Hunger Report 2018.
[7] “Research, Reports and Financials.” Food Bank for New York City, https://www.foodbanknyc.org/research-reports/.
[8] Gibson, Angelica, et al. The Uneaten Big Apple: Hunger’s High Cost in NYC, New York City Hunger Report 2018.
[9] “FoodHelp NYC.” FoodHelp NYC, Human Resource Administration, NYC Department of Social Services, maps.nyc.gov/foodhelp/#map-page.
[10] “FoodHelp NYC.” FoodHelp NYC, Human Resource Administration, NYC Department of Social Services, maps.nyc.gov/foodhelp/#map-page.
[11] Working New York Still Hungry: New York City and State Hunger Report 2017.
