Food pantries, turkey drives becoming essential
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
In the South Bronx — where 1 in 5
residents are currently experiencing
food insecurity, the highest in the nation
— food drives and food pantries are
fi lling a vital role in the borough’s ecosystem.
Danelle Rogers, a single mother of
three who lives in the Highbridge section,
said receiving one of 300 turkeys
being given away at Bill Rainey Park
in the Longwood section on Saturday,
ensured that she can give her kids a
“proper Thanksgiving meal.”
“When COVID hit, I lost my job and
couldn’t fi nd a way to make payment on
my apartment and feed my kids and myself,”
she said. “There are days where
it’ll be a McDonald’s week or a frozen
pizza week, so to have a turkey dinner
means a lot more to most.”
Food insecurity, a measure of the
availability of food and individuals’
ability to access it, has been a prevalent
issue for the South Bronx where more
than 40% of its resident live in poverty.
Community groups such as Bronx
Works say their community food pantries
provide 3,700 households with
emergency food each month and elected
offi cials like state Assemblywoman
Latoya Joyner and Bronx Borough
President-elect Vanessa Gibson joined
in on food drives and Thanksgiving turkey
giveaways in the Bronx last week.
“In my district, I have families that
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 16 OV. 26-DEC. 2,2021 BTR
Members of Bronx Initiative Rising distribute 300 turkeys at Bill Rainey Park on Saturday,
Nov. 20. Photo Adrian Childress
have many kids,” said Joyner at a food
giveaway in Hunts Point. “I want to
make sure no one is going hungry on
Thanksgiving.”
In Hunts Point volunteers packed
Thanksgiving dinners for thousands
with the help of Baldor, a food distributor
located in the South Bronx.
While the BronxWorks’ biweekly
food pantry served nearly 200 families
on Saturday, food pantries can only
do so much, and lately, some haven’t
been able to feed as many mouths. The
BronxWorks pantry used to run every
Saturday, but has since been cut back
due to a lack of funding and staff.
“The pandemic shed such a bigger
microscope on how food insecurity has
affected the borough,” said Jason Autar,
COO of Bronx Rising Initiative, a
nonprofi t organization dedicated to
providing and distributing critical resources
across the Bronx. “Anecdotally,
we’ve seen a rise in food pantries
and food drives, but we’ve also seen a
rise in those who do not have accessibility
to fresh food.”
The Bronx’s rank as the hungriest
borough is affecting nearly all age
groups, including 35.8% of all Bronx
children, nearly 18% ofworking adults,
and more than 21% of older residents
(60-plus) experiencing food insecurity.
The consequences of food insecurity
are dire: Studies show that children
without consistent access to food
are more likely to experience language,
motor skills and behavioral challenges.
People who are food insecure are also
disproportionately affected by chronic
diseases such as diabetes and high
blood pressure — putting them at even
greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
Statewide in New York, during the
pandemic, the number of people who
“didn’t have enough to eat” soared to
6.1 million in April 2021, but dropped
to about 2.7 million by September 2021,
according to U.S. Census Household
Pulse data.
The 56% drop in food insuffi ciency
in New York State coincided with a
massive boost in federal food and cash
aid. From May 2020-August 2021 alone,
federal spending on the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
— half of all South Bronx households
receive SNAP benefi ts — nearly doubled,
from $362 million-$693 million
monthly.
The use of SNAP benefi ts, or food
stamps, is an indicator of food insecurity;
the majority of households that
receive SNAP are food insecure.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in
mid-November as part of increasing
benefi ts for SNAP participants, all
New Yorkers involved in the federal
program will receive the maximum
allowable level of monthly food benefi
ts, plus an additional allotment of at
least $95.