A Blog post by Chaamy Yapa
The USDA defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food”. Food insecurity is a substantial dilemma in New York City and across the country, affecting millions daily. During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity intensified, and the demand for food assistance services increased after displacement from work and financial losses arose. Food insecurity disproportionately affects minority groups. For example, it was found that Black and/or Latinx individuals are twice as likely to suffer from hunger than the national average. There are a multitude of factors that contribute to food insecurity overall. These include:
Poverty is one of the leading drivers of food insecurity in NYC communities. Poverty limits the financial resources available to families and households, making it an obstacle to purchasing foods that can satisfy their needs. Poverty is also sometimes associated with higher chances of having health conditions, such as malnutrition and diarrheal diseases that may increase the demand and necessity for healthier foods at home. Healthier foods are, unfortunately, the more expensive option in many cases and often are unaffordable or unavailable in certain communities.
Family structure: Research shows that single-income (e.g., only one household member is employed) households face more food insecurity than double-income households. Research also suggests that larger households with low income may face difficulty affording enough food and other basic needs. Additionally, immigrant households face barriers due to a lack of familiarity with the food system and restricted access to social services. Homeless families are most vulnerable to hunger because of the lack of stable shelter. Additionally, many people living within the NYC shelter system lack access to basic cooking appliances such as a stove or refrigerators.
Urban lifestyle of high-living costs: Living in an urban environment is not cheap, and the expenses for rent, utilities, and transportation add up, often leaving little money for food. Urban areas are also highly competitive for resources because of the lack of usable land for farming purposes. Additionally, cities house millions of people, putting a strain on the local metropolitan food environments. Many resources necessary to fulfill comfortable living, such as affordable housing, employment, and food assistance, are limited and not always available to everyone because of strict eligibility criteria and limited availability.
Unemployment: When people are either unemployed or underemployed, they will struggle to afford proper meals and groceries. This can create instability for the family, especially the children. The pandemic led to a surge in unemployment, and more people struggled than ever before to put food on the table.
“Food apartheid” or limited access to food: Low-income communities and neighborhoods of NYC often lack access to supermarkets or grocery stores with fresh produce and healthy food. This makes it even more challenging to access nutritious foods. It creates health-related challenges because people lack the vitamins and minerals needed for their well-being. In addition, during the pandemic, it was especially difficult since SNAP recipients who typically received money at the beginning of the month would face situations where the stores were out of stock of healthy/essential food items by the time they received their SNAP funds.
Transportation barriers: Due to the lack of nearby supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods, it can be challenging to access food stores. Oftentimes there are more fast-food and convenience stores in these areas than grocery stores, making food less accessible and more expensive. Lack of grocery stores in neighborhoods forces community members to travel out of their community or even borough to access higher-quality food. Traveling to obtain grocery items increases barriers to access such as being limited to the hours of operation of public transportation, or the cost to travel. Improving public transportation options and increasing the availability of healthy food options in low-income neighborhoods can help to reduce food insecurity in the city.
Natural disasters/crises: In natural disaster events or even in pandemics, many social and economic institutions are affected and even sometimes shut down (schools, stores, banks, etc.). This makes it more difficult to continue having a steady source of income and often leads to being unable to afford one’s living needs, such as food. It is also harder to transport food between places if natural disasters cause damage to public transportation services. Furthermore, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when borders are closed to international countries and stocks of food imports are stopped, it can cause food shortages and an increase in prices.
Next Steps: Here are Some Actions You Can Take To Address Food Insecurity
If you are an NYC resident and passionate about this ongoing hunger dilemma, please look into the following ways you can create a difference in decreasing a neighbor’s, a classmate’s, or even a fellow community member’s food insecurity:
Donate to local food banks and food pantries Visit https://www.foodbanknyc.org/donate-food/ or https://www.nyc.gov/assets/donate/site/DonateFood/About for more information.
Volunteer at community food banks, soup kitchens, and mobile markets. Visit https://www.foodbanknyc.org/volunteer/ or https://nycommonpantry.org/volunteer/ to find volunteer opportunities.
Advocate for policy change
Check out Healthy School Meals for All New York Kids, a statewide campaign led by Hunger Solutions to promote free school meals (breakfast and lunch) to all students regardless of family income or background.
Advocate for Expanded SNAP Benefits in the Next Farm Bill: Read about a former recipient of SNAP, Esperanza Fonseca, who wants to initiate a change in the next farm bill to reflect expanded benefits after the extra pandemic benefits have been removed. She helped to advocate for the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) in 2019 when she realized the SNAP benefits did not allow hot meal purchases. Now, she wants to push for more change around today’s situation to center in on marginalized Americans.
Join the Share Lunch Fight Hunger campaign (May 8- June 8): This campaign from City Harvest invites New Yorkers to spread the word and find contributors to the fundraising team to help out families during this difficult time. Ever since the pandemic benefits have been cut, and now record-high grocery prices, it has been challenging to support NYC children (school lunches are not accessible) and families.
Chaamy Yapa is a CUNY Macaulay Honors student studying at Baruch College and is a member of the Healthy CUNY Navigator team. Learn more about our Navigators here: https://www.healthycuny.org/navigator-portal