New York City – over 3 million city residents, or 38% of the population, had difficulty affording food for themselves and their families last year, according to “NYC Hunger Experience 2008,” a report released Wednesday by the Food Bank for New York City. The figure is up 13% from 2003, the first year the Food Bank conducted its annual survey.
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The price of food in the New York metropolitan region rose 4% in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2003, food costs have increased 15% in the New York area.
Hardest hit are residents with household incomes below $25,000, 57% of whom struggled to afford food last year. But as prices increase, middle-income families are beginning to face a similar struggle. Over 20% of residents in households with incomes of more than $75,000 fought with food costs last year, up from only 6% in 2006.
Rising costs, coupled with a stagnant economy, have sent an increasing number of New Yorkers in search of outside help. The number of residents using the city’s soup kitchens and food pantries hit 1.3 million last year, up 24% from 2004.
But the city’s emergency food programs are up against their own shortage. The Food Bank, which provides the majority of supplies for the city’s 600 food pantries, expects food donations to drop 47% this fiscal year.
Some help is on the way. The recently passed federal farm bill will add funds to the national emergency food system, which helps organizations like the city’s Food Bank. But that money may not arrive until October, requiring the need for more immediate solutions.
Unverified statistics which can be used to prove anything. This is nonsense. And another way of ripping off the taxpayer – GET A JOB.
These people have jobs. That’s precisely the point. It’s even affecting the middle class now.
instead of pumping the money to soup kitchens, how about putting this money against subsidizing the cost of bread, milk, cheese etc. it will serve the purpose while eliminating the costly price of keeping up a litado.
sorry i meant “keeping up a kitchen”
yet our taxes keep going up and up and up – For heaven sake what is the government doing with our money
The average expenses for a New Yorker went up 10,000 according to the stats on MSNBC.COM
Keyspan, Con Ed, water, Gasoline , taxes, food, insurance and other daily expenses went up.
If this trend continues there will be many people on the streets and at Masbia food kitchens.
When will the madness end?
Braindy
Its no joke asks where is the money going. Easy answer IRAQ Bush’s folly what happened to the promise of lower gas prices if we invaded. The whole purpose of this was was not for the oil but for Bush and his oil buddies to get the price of oil up now that “Mission Accomplished”