New Report: Hunger Reaches Record High - 12.4 % of New Yorkers at Risk

Nov. 30, 2010 - PRLog -- Millwood, NY – (November 30, 2010) – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Economic Research Service recently reported that 12.4 percent of New York residents are food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to a nutritious, well-balanced diet. The report, Household Food Insecurity in the United States, is a sobering snapshot of the pervasiveness of hunger in our nation. The findings are based on data collected by the government in December 2009.

In Westchester County, the demand for emergency food relief has continued to rise. “We had a 30 percent  increase in household food requests at the end of June 2010, and we distributed six million pounds of food to local hunger-relief programs, one million more than the year before,” according to Food Bank for Westchester Executive Director Christina Rohatynskyj.

“This new data provides strong evidence that the safety net helped many families at risk of hunger in 2009.This is due to improvements to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps) and other programs in the economic recovery package, as well as the ongoing support for the emergency food system,” said Rohatynskyj.

“Our staff provided 12,175 Westchester residents with food stamp information last year and assisted more than 240 seniors with the SNAP application and advocacy. The need has definitely grown,” she added

The report shows that in New York, child hunger remains critically high, with nearly one in four children at risk of hunger in 2009. Addressing child hunger locally, the Food Bank for Westchester conducts the Kids Cafe and BackPack programs. Kids Cafe provides children with hot, nutritious after-school meals, serving more than 110,000 meals to 900 children last year. The BackPack Program, currently at 22 Westchester sites, provides children in selected schools and after-school programs with a bag filled with nutritious food for the weekends. The program distributes 2,160 bags each month to more than 1,200 children.

The full USDA report can be found at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/.

The Food Bank for Westchester is located at 358 Saw Mill River Road, Millwood, NY 10546. For more information, visit www.foodbankforwestchester.org or call 914-923-1100.

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About the Food Bank for Westchester: The Food Bank for Westchester, one of eight food banks in New York State, acquires, warehouses and distributes more than six million pounds of food annually to over 200 Westchester County hunger relief organizations, including food pantries, soup kitchens, and residential programs. The mission of the Food Bank for Westchester is to lead, engage and educate Westchester County in creating a hunger-free environment. Its core activity is the collection and distribution of donated, government and purchased food.