“What Am I Going To Do?”

As SNAP cuts hit just before the holidays, families across New York City are struggling to make ends meet — asking the same question: What am I going to do?

Parents, veterans, and essential workers are turning to Food Bank For NYC for help as rent, food, and everyday costs keep climbing. At Food Bank For New York City’s Community Kitchen, the worry is real — but so is the will to fight back.

With your support, we can raise 50 million meals to make sure every family has a meal on the table this holiday season.

Give now — Every $1 provides up to 15 meals for New York City.

Transcript:

Sultana Ocasio (Director, Community Kitchen):
Folks are very anxious. They’re wondering what they’re gonna do.

They’re anxious if they’re not gonna receive their SNAP benefits, how are they gonna enjoy the holidays? How are they going to get through November and December?

Shirrell (Volunteer):
And now, I’m starting to get nervous. Question is: What am I gonna do?

John (Navy Veteran):
EBT…SNAP is gonna be cut off, and all of us are pretty much screwed.

Jonathan (Father):
I, for one, could eat a bag of chips and it’ll last me a week. My kids can’t go through that. They need to be healthy and strong. This means to me at this very moment: Everything.

Because in my household, we barely have anything.

Volunteer:
Thank you for stopping by.

Jonathan:
I’m working and it’s a struggle.

Monique (Teacher, Mom of Three):
And when I was teaching, it was like, ‘Oh, you’re a teacher.’

You could be a professional and still, like, live check to check.

Fashina (Tile Setter):
People ask, ‘When you go to work, why do you go to the food pantry?’ And I’m like, ‘Everybody that lives in New York City sometimes have to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Like, it just happens.’ You know?

Shirrell:
It’s…it’s gonna be rough. We’re gonna have to really budget.

Gregory (Maintenance Worker):
And it’s hard to, you know, figure out, ‘Okay, which one is the right decision?’ You know, you got to eat. You wanna save money to try to pay your rent.

Fashina:
And the food pantries and things like that help off set a lot of the expenses.

Samantha Burgos (Director, Community Kitchen Operations):
We’re starting to see families come back. We know that those SNAP benefits are not lasting as long as they would. Now with them being completely cut, we’re gonna see families coming back more and more throughout the month. They know that they can count on Food Bank for New York City.

Sheri (Head Chef, Community Kitchen):
This kitchen. This team. This organization…
We’ve got the manpower.
We’ve got the willpower.
We’ve got it all.

We just need that support to help us to keep going.