'Disturbing' Increase In Hunger On Long Island, Food Banks Say

LONG ISLAND, NY — There has been a "sharp jump" in food insecurity on Long Island in numbers that Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, called "quite disturbing."

The 2022 Map the Meal Gap report for Long Island estimates that 221,190 people on Long Island are food insecure, an increase of 58.3 percent from the 2021 estimate of 139,760 people, according to a joint news release from Long Island Cares and Island Harvest Food Bank announced.

In 2022, the estimated number of children living with food insecurity is 44,780, a 63.4 percent increase from the estimated 27,580 children living with food insecurity in 2021.

"Feeding America’s latest Map the Meal Gap study affirms what we already knew here on Long Island: Food insecurity is moving in the wrong direction and, ironically, is worse now than during the dark days of the pandemic," said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest. "Far too many Long Islanders are struggling to provide their families with basic, nutritious food on the table mainly due to higher food costs and the region’s high cost of living — and it’s not getting better."

Pachter suggests hunger on Long Island has gotten worse in 2023. Long Island Cares's data "absolutely illustrates" a continued increase in need on Long Island, he told Patch.

In 2023, Long Island Cares saw an increase of 37.4 percent — or 42,857 people — visiting its five satellite food pantries for assistance. The organization logged a total of 157,513 visits to its satellites in 2023, while in 2022, the number of visits was 114,656, according to Pachter. Most of Long Island Cares's member agencies are also reporting an increase in visits of between 25-35 percent.

Shubin Dresner said food bank officials are appealing to elected representatives at every level for increased funding for, and access to, emergency food programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and Nourish New York, among others.

Pachter said government policymakers at all levels should be concerned with the "quite disturbing" data from the Map the Meal Gap report.

"It seems that every year food banks in New York State must advocate for a permanent increase to support the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) that provides the majority of funding for hunger relief," Pachter said.

Pachter said a $64 million budget was proposed for HPNAP, but the current state budget provides $57.8 million for the "vital program." That is far less than what is needed to respond to a 58.3 percent increase in need, Pachter said.

The $64M budget request was made by Feeding New York State, the state association made up of the 10 Feeding America food bank members in the state, according to Pachter.

"Unfortunately, Governor Hochul has not increased funding for the Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) to the level of financial support needed to address the increase in food insecurity," Pachter said. "While the Nourish New York program funding is important, it only pertains to food purchases from NYS growers and centers on fresh produce, dairy products, and other items which are limited."

A spokesperson for Hochul said the governor is "committed to ensuring" all New Yorkers have access to healthy and fresh food.

"She has secured over $170 million for the Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program since taking office and $54 million for the Nourish NY program in the FY 2025 Budget, a program she codified into law shortly after taking office," the spokesperson said. "The Governor will continue addressing food insecurity across the state and supporting New York families."

Food banks have been supporting state legislators also calling for an increase to funding for HPNAP which has resulted in additional funding through one-offs, if funding was available, Pachter said.

"While the federal government has increased funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) as part of a more than $1 billion increase for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we still must address the deep discrepancies on Long Island when it comes to poverty," Pachter said. "The current federal poverty level doesn’t account for the cost of living by region. A one-size-fits-all formula to determine poverty is inadequate, and that’s why Long Island Cares has been advocating for Congress to pass legislation to regionalize the poverty level so that families struggling with food insecurity would receive an increase in their benefits, including SNAP, that would reflect the high cost of living in the Northeast as opposed to a lower cost of living in other states."

Combined, Island Harvest and Long Island Cares distributed more than 31 million pounds of food to their networks of more than 300 member agencies in 2023.

If Long Island food banks could reach every person who is food insecure with that food, they would receive about 141 pounds of food a year — less than half a pound of food a day, the food bank officials said.

In 2022, Long Island Cares distributed 1,041,765 meals to 115,699 visitors, some of whom were repeats, at its five satellites across the island. In 2021, those numbers were 647,844 meals given to 73,896 visitors. The food bank handed out 60 percent more meals in 2022 than in 2021.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.