Children
With one out of five New York City children relying on emergency food, kids are one of the largest groups accessing our citywide network of food assistance programs. Recognizing the severity of childhood hunger in our city, the Food Bank provides a multi-pronged approach to fighting this problem. Read below for key statistics on childhood hunger in our city and stories on the children we help.
- More than one-half (56 percent) of NYC households with children had difficulty affording needed food in 2008 — a 75 percent increase over five years. (NYC Hunger Experience 2008 Update)
- More than one out of four (27 percent) children in NYC (15 percent in the US) lived below the federal poverty level in 2007 (approximately $17,000 per year for a family of three). (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2007)
- Approximately 397,000 children were served by soup kitchens and food pantries in 2007 — a 48 percent increase since 2004. (NYC Hunger Safety Net 2007)
- Among NYC households with school-age children accessing emergency food, more than three-quarters (79 percent) participate in the National School Lunch Program while only 59 percent and 39 percent participate in the School Breakfast and Summer Food Service Program respectively. (NYC Hunger Safety Net 2007)
Learn more about childhood hunger in our city with the Food Bank policy paper, Child Hunger: The Unheathly Return on Missed Investments.
Read stories below about children who have received assistance through our network of more than 1,000 food assistance programs throughout the five boroughs. Real names are not used.
John, domestic violence shelter guest
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"John, along with his mother and younger brother, were victims of mental, emotional and physical abuse. Fortunately, they found the courage to leave and come here.
"Before they came here, John had to leave his school and his mother had to leave her job because of the abuse, and money was scarce. John's mother has had a real hard time trying to make her money stretch so that the kids can have enough to eat. She's told me that our Open Market BackPack Program has been a real lifesaver for her children — it feels so great that our services can make such a difference. Being able to shop for themselves makes the kids feel responsible. John's a real sweet kid. It's obvious he feels that he's helping his family and feels real good about it.
"John's mother said that he never wants to miss an opportunity to participate in the program. She always makes a point to show how thankful and appreciative she is by returning the tote bags neatly folded so they can be used again."
Told by a staff member of a domestic violence shelter that is part of the African America Planning Committee, Inc.
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Michelle & Jasmin, Manhattan soup kitchen guests
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Michelle:
"I have a ten-year-old, and I'm a single mom. I'm a widow, and I live in a shelter...I come here three, four times a week and I depend on it to feed my child.
"Basically she's so comfortable here because they spoil her rotten."
Jasmin:
"Well I like it, um...because they give me stuff. The kids would probably like the food and the staff...
"Well, the first thing, when the people hand out the food they say hi, and, it's really nice..."
Watch this mother and daughter in our 2008 "The Reality of Hunger" video. We met Michelle and Jasmin at our Community Kitchen in Harlem.
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