16 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Food insecurity in Queens at pre-recession levels,
but still compounded by economic inequality
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Just in time for Queens residents to
refl ect on what they’re thankful for at the
Th anksgiving table, Hunger Free America
released a report that shows food insecurity
in Queens continues aff ect the borough,
aggravated by the area’s rising cost
of living.
Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America,
announced the release of the report
Tuesday morning at the Hour Children
Food Pantry in Long Island City. He
was joined by Assemblywoman Catherine
Nolan and representatives from the offi ces
of Councilman Francisco Moya and Gov.
Andrew Cuomo.
While the number of Queens residents
who experienced food insecurity
has decreased in recent years, the number
of people who rely on food pantries
continues to increase, the report found.
About 68 percent of Queens emergency
food programs reported an increase in the
number of people served in 2019.
“Th e good news is that things are marginally
better than they were at the height of
the recession,” said Berg. “Th e bad news is
that because New York City and Queens are
so unaff ordable, we still have the same level
of hunger today that we had a decade ago.”
Th e number of Queens residents who
experienced food insecurity in 2016-2018
totals 189,178, according to the Hunger
Free America report. Th is is down from
244,863 Queens residents in 2013-2015
and 268,796 in 2006-2008. While the
number of people in New York City who
are food insecure decreased by nearly
27 percent over the last six years, one in
eight city residents still struggled against
hunger.
Part of this downward trend is explained
by New York state’s push to increase access
to supplemental food benefi ts. In 2016,
Gov. Cuomo expanded the number of residents
who are eligible for Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
benefi ts by raising the Gross Income Test
level to 150 percent of the poverty line.
Th is made an extra 750,000 households
eligible for the benefi t across the state.
“We must continue to support governmental
policies that provide dignifi
ed support to families,” Nolan said. She
added that securing additional SNAP
funding would be a budget fi ght.
Meanwhile, the cost of living in the city
keeps going up. Many neighborhoods in
Queens, historically known as a bedrock
of the city’s working class, are increasingly
unaff ordable to its residents. Sister Tesa
Fitzgerald, executive director of Hour
Children, said that she has noticed bigger
crowds of people at her panty located
in a gentrifying neighborhood over the
past year.
“We’ve seen an increase in people coming,
desperate for food for everyday living,”
Fitzgerald said.
Th e report also found that half of its
respondents commenting on President
Trump’s Public Charge law, described
a change in the number of immigrants
served in the past.
In October, federal judges made a preliminary
injunction halting the rule would
make it more diffi cult for immigrants to
get green cards if it looks as though they
might need public assistance. But the
report found that it had already started to
have a chilling eff ect on immigrants seeking
government subsidy.
About 29 percent of emergency food
pantries witnessed an increase in immigrants
utilizing their services as a result of
disenrollment from SNAP.
“Th is time of year, people are incredibly
generous, especially with food drives. But
hunger of course is year-round, and donations
are what keeps us going. We’re grateful
for people who remember us and their
neighbors in need even when the holidays
are over,” said Sister Fitzgerald.
Th e report can be read at hungerfreeamerica.
org. More information about
Hour Children Food Pantry can be found
at hourchildren.org.
Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.
/hourchildren.org
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