Participation in the Food Stamp Program in the city dropped in October 2006 by 5,039 people, and is now at the lowest level since October 2005, according to data just formally published by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). Given that the average food stamp benefit in the city is now $112 per person per month, the 5,039-person drop equals an estimated $564,368 reduction in the amount of federal nutrition benefits available to low-income New Yorkers in just one month. ...read more

Hunger advocates applauded today’s announcement by Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Quinn that the Mayor’s office would be hiring a full-time employee and creating a task force to focus on food policy issues. ...read more

The number of New York State residents who could not afford a sufficient supply of food again increased, according to a national report released today by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). New York was one of only 16 states in the nation with a statistically significant increase. More than one in ten New York households now lack sufficient food. ...read more

Study Demonstrates Link Between Obesity and Hunger; Speaker Quinn, Public Advocate Gotbaum and Hunger Group Say Data Proves Need For Better City and State Coordination of Food Issues

A pioneering new study by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger uses cutting-edge computer mapping technology to demonstrate that low-income neighborhoods in the city lack access to supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and other sources of fresh produce and nutritious food. ...read more

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger, a nonprofit umbrella group for the city’s more than 1,200 food pantries and soup kitchens, will honor Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum at a fundraising cocktail reception to be held at the Time Warner Center on Wednesday, November 15. ...read more