hunger

Adams' budget proposal would reduce city spending on food insecurity to pre-pandemic levels.

In the first half of 2022, New Yorkers visited food pantries and soup kitchens about 3.5 million times per month, on average, according to the food rescue organization City Harvest.

Hundreds of families in the O’Dwyer Gardens have been calling for the city to restore cooking gas since construction broke ground on NYCHA’s Resilience and Recovery project in February.

The food pantry has served thousands of residents at its Queens hub since opening in the early days of the pandemic.

Local nonprofits worry that federal assistance isn’t keeping pace with rising food prices — caused by a mix of global forces such as climate change and the war in Ukraine.

The end of the program will affect thousands of older adults, a group especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Food policy experts and advocates want more than just lentils and bodega berries from the new mayor.

“We've seen people coming from everywhere. They're coming from many, many zip codes.”

While some families have used their stimulus checks to cover costs, others are racking up credit card debt and borrowing money from friends.

"I felt vulnerable. I felt embarrassed. And I felt ‘I can survive this.’"