Hunger remains a problem for New
Yorkers amid COVID-19 pandemic
Budget cuts threaten the nonprofi ts that
New York’s most vulnerable rely upon
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 11-17, 2020 27
BY WES MOORE
New York City’s nonprofi ts
have always played a critical
role in supporting vulnerable
New Yorkers, but the effects of
COVID-19 have signifi cantly
exacerbated the demand for human
services, wreaking havoc
on the frontline organizations
that New Yorkers depend upon.
Now a decision by the Mayor
threatens their viability amidst
an ongoing pandemic and unprecedented
unemployment
rates.
On the city’s chopping block
are reimbursements to groups
that help feed hungry seniors,
provide mental health care, educate
our children, and clothe
and house the homeless. For
years, these organizations have
been a lifeline to New Yorkers
living in poverty and, throughout
the pandemic, they remain
on the frontlines providing essential
life-saving services.
That’s why it is essential
that the Mayor immediately reinstate
his commitment to fully
reimburse the city’s human
service organizations for their
indirect expenses.
Since March, Robin Hood
has invested more than $40 million
in over 500 local nonprofi t
groups providing cash assistance,
emergency food, rental
assistance, and healthcare to
neighbors plunged further into
economic insecurity by this virus.
While Robin Hood and others
continue to help these organizations
do their essential
work, dependable city funding
is the only realistic path toward
their sustainability.
In 2019, Mayor de Blasio and
Council Speaker Corey Johnson
touted a fi scal year 2020 budget
deal that committed to close the
gap in reimbursements for human
service organizations’ socalled
indirect expenses. But,
earlier this month, the Mayor
announced his intention to
walk back the 2020 budget commitment
by cutting these reimbursements
by 40 percent.
This seemingly innocuous
budgetary decision translates
to tens of millions of dollars,
which will leave community
organizations holding the bag
for approved, budgeted expenses
like utilities, bills, and
rent. An increased demand for
services, rising hazard pay for
workers, building closures, and
enhanced cleaning measures
have imploded the already tight
budgets we force these groups to
balance. These slashes will not
only cripple many of these community
organizations, but risk
leaving hundreds of thousands
of New Yorkers in need with nowhere
to turn to for help.
Community service providers
have, for years, borne the
brunt of economic downturns
and budget cuts. For years,
that dynamic has helped fuel
the Tale of Two Cities that this
Mayor has so admirably sought
to unwrite. We must hold him
to his word and beat back this
proposal.
Our city is fi ghting to recover;
but the pandemic is
on-going, the economic crisis
rages on, and millions remain
in need. Now we have a chance
to rewrite the playbook on how
cities rebuild by putting the
people most vulnerable to crises
fi rst. Starving those who
feed the hungry cannot be the
way forward.
Wes Moore is the CEO of
Robin Hood, one of the largest
anti-poverty forces in the nation.
He is a bestselling author,
a combat veteran, and a social
entrepreneur.
OP-ED
BY COREY JOHNSON, VANESSA
L. GIBSON, AND MARK TREYGER
Sadly, hunger in New York
City is not a new problem.
Sky high rent prices, stubbornly
low wages, and the
high cost of living in one of
the richest cities in the world
means that many New Yorkers
have to sacrifi ce on food
to pay for rent and other basic
necessities.
At the beginning of this
Council’s session in 2018,
40 percent of providers said
they didn’t have enough food
to meet demand. This was
well before COVID and at a
time of economic prosperity
in our city.
The problems back then
were two-fold. The nonprofits
that operated these programs
needed money to serve
those in need, but also stable
funding.
The federal government
wasn’t helping.
Cuts to the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program,
formerly known as food
stamps, exacerbated the need
for food pantries and left the
more than 1.5 million New
Yorkers who relied on the program
out in the cold.
The Council stepped up.
We increased funding for
emergency food and for senior
meals and created new programs
to address food insecurity
at the City University
of New York to stop college
students from going hungry,
a prevalent but little-known
problem in our city.
Over the past four budget
cycles, we’ve increased
funding for food programs
by $55 million. Our most significant
achievements was
changing how we funded the
Emergency Food Assistance
Program.
In fi scal year 2019, we
fought to baseline $20.2 million
for this program, meaning
the money was automatically
added to the budget
every year. In the past this
funding was never guaranteed,
leaving providers in
limbo annually.
This allowed food providers
to better plan on how to
feed vulnerable New Yorkers
and have the money to do so.
Then COVID-19 hit.
Virtually overnight, the
number of food insecure New
Yorkers went from 1.2 million
to 2 million and nearly onethird
of food pantries shut
down during the early days of
the crisis.
Many pantries managed
to stay open because of our
years of investment in food
programs, but we knew more
was needed to meet this unprecedented
challenge.
We aggressively and successfully
pushed both the
de Blasio administration
and the state government to
each designate $25 million in
emergency funds for food programs
in April.
These funds will help hundreds
of organizations including
food pantries, soup kitchens
and charities that deliver
meals or groceries to those in
need. Nearly 80% of that $25
million will reach local food
pantries, as we know pantry
visits continue to increase
each week.
With the City’s $25 million,
the Council focused on
high-need, low-income, foodinsecure
areas, and recommended
organizations operating
in these communities.
Additionally, the Council
identifi ed providers which
serve immigrant communities
across the fi ve boroughs.
In the meantime, the
State’s $25 million under the
Nourish New York initiative,
provides emergency funds
for food banks and providers
which serve the populations
that need it the most.
Aiming to increase food access,
the funds not only help
families in need across the
City and the State, they also
tackle existing disparities.
We are also proud that
our recently passed budget
for 2021 contains no cuts to
Council-funded food programs
despite a $9 billion
budget defi cit.
All of this work contributes
to our ultimate goal of
addressing inequity in all
forms in New York City, including
food inequity. Every
New Yorker deserves access
to healthy affordable food.
It’s governments’ job to
make sure residents get the resources
they need, especially
during a public health and fi -
nancial crisis when so many of
them are sick or out of work.
Those in need should call
3-1-1 and say “Get Food” or
visit the City’s COVID-19
emergency food site at nyc.
gov/getfood.
Corey Johnson is Speaker of
the City Council; Vanessa Gibson
chairs the Council’s Subcommittee
on Capital Budget;
Mark Treyger chairs the Council’s
Education Committee.