Dear Friends,

The U.S. Census released new statistics today, which find that nearly 44 million Americans lived in poverty in 2009, an increase of 3.8 million (+14%) from 2008. These numbers represent the largest number of U.S. residents living in poverty on record. (Click here for the full report.)

A low-income family at a Food Bank network food pantry

Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise to the Food Bank For New York City. Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, the Food Bank has witnessed lines growing longer at soup kitchens and food pantries. More than 90 percent of NYC’s emergency food organizations reported an increase in new clients last year, and more than three million city residents reported difficulty affording food for their households. Despite talk of recovery — there appears to be no let-up in sight. Unemployment rates are still more than double what they were at the onset of the recession; more families have long since spent down their savings and are relying on our services just to keep basic food on the table.

Equally troubling is the fact that government resources are not increasing to help meet the demand. Instead, the Food Bank has witnessed budget cuts to vital services for the poor or at best, a shifting of funding that amounts to robbing-Peter-To-Pay-Paul. For example, Congress recently opted to cut food stamp funding to pay for education and medical services for the poor and at this very moment is considering another cut to the food stamp pot to pay for the Child Nutrition bill. As more and more families fall upon hard times, they will certainly fall through the safety net that has begun to unravel under the extra weight. Without an infusion of new funding to reinforce basic services like emergency food, food stamps and housing — poverty, hunger and homelessness will continue to skyrocket.

Sincerely,
Lucy Cabrera, Ph.D., CAE
President and CEO