The Plight of Hunger in New York -- and the Charitable Response

Last year, 6.1 million meals were provided in New York City and the Hudson Valley through a federation of agencies operated and supported by Catholic Charities. The network of 90 agencies includes a Mobile Food Pantry with the flexibility to respond to need as it arises in our community. In one neighborhood alone, the Mobile Food Pantry responded to a 78% increase in families served between the years 2006 and 2010.

In New York State, nearly 3 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or Food Stamps) to meet their basic food needs. During this historic time of need, hungry families come to our food pantries, soup kitchens, senior center — even the “newly poor” who have never asked for help before. Many are unemployed or underemployed, families with children, seniors and the disabled.

Throughout the 10 Counties of the Archdiocese of New York*:

• More than 12% of all our neighbors have difficulty affording food.
• Families with children fare worse. More than 22% of parents and children in the Archdiocese are experiencing difficulty affording food.
• More than 800,000 people in the 10-county region of the Archdiocese of New York are experiencing difficulty affording food.
• Nearly 325,000 of children do not have enough to eat. 
• Unemployment remains near 8%.
• The cost of living is high. The cost of a low-cost meal within the Archdiocese of New York is nearly 9% higher than the national average.
• Poverty remains a major cause for families experiencing difficulty affording food.
  • For New York State, the rate for people in poverty is 14%.
  • For New York State, the rate for children in poverty is nearly 20%

*The Archdiocese of New York includes the Bronx, Dutchess, Manhattan, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Staten Island, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties.