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Increasing NYC Hunger Proves Economic Slump
"Record Number of Feeding Charities Can’t Keep Up with Soaring Need;
Federal Data Shows 1 in 6 New Yorkers Still Lack Sufficient Food;
Food Insecurity Costs New York City $2.65 Billion per Year;
Only Sign of Hope Is Food Stamp Participation Rising with Need
The number of people who use food pantries and soup kitchens soared in New York City in 2007, while food stocks drastically declined, forcing fully half of these programs to ration food, according to the annual survey of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger
The Coalition’s survey estimated that pantry and kitchen use increased by 20% in 2007, on top of the 11% increase in 2006 estimated by last year’s survey. The Coalition said that the accelerating increase in hunger provided one of the first concrete signs that the local economy has started a significant slow-down.
Fully 59% of agencies – a record number – said they lacked the resources to meet their growing demand in 2007, a sharp increase from the 48% who lacked such resources in 2006. The Coalition’s full survey report, entitled: Rising Food Lines, Sinking Economy: Increase in NYC Hunger is Early Proof of Economic Slow-Down, is available at www.nyccah.org.
According to the Coalition’s estimate based on federal data for 2006 at the state level, 1.3 million New Yorkers – one in six city residents – still live in households that are food insecure, meaning they cannot afford an adequate and consistent supply of food. New York City must pay $2.65 billion per year due to health care spending, reduced worker productivity and other spending caused by this high level of food insecurity, according to Coalition calculations based on a national study by Dr. Larry Brown of Harvard University."
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