Photo: Courtesy of Flickr.com
For more than 30 years The Food Bank for New York City has been a primary resource for hunger relief initiatives throughout the five boroughs. Located in Hunts Point in the Bronx, the organization distributes 64 million free meals to New Yorkers in need through a network of 1,000 separate charities and schools working together to offer free meals, food stamps and nutrition education programs. Approximately 1.5 million New Yorkers currently rely the Food Bank’s programming and it has become a vital option for those who are struggling to get proper nourishment for themselves and their families.
Though the organization has seen extreme success by way of the incredible amount of meals they are able to provide for struggling New Yorkers, they have also seen an influx of visitor traffic and currently have a supply that is unable to meet demands. According to a report released by the Food Bank, 90% of pantries are experiencing an increase of visitor traffic, causing about half to run out of resources before the end of the month.
While looking closely at the support that the pantries and kitchens are given, it is shocking to see the help that they provide despite their meager funding/ staffing. The report states that approximately half (52 percent) of food pantries in New York City operate on a budget of less than $25,000 per year. Additionally, approximately half (52 percent) of food pantries are completely volunteer-run, with no full-time or part-time paid staff and nearly half of the pantries operate without a computer on site or limited access to a computer.
However, on a slightly more positive note, the findings also imply how few resources the pantries require to provide meaningful support. Many of them require the help of dedicated volunteers or part-time staff to ration their funds and offer services. Though the pantries and kitchens are constantly at the precipice of a supply and demand dilemma, they are still able to provide millions of meals per year to those in need.
With all of this in mind, think of what The Food Bank of NYC could achieve with even more financial and volunteer resources. On their website, the Food Bank offers many different outlets to volunteer, donate money and get involved in their many events. With all they have accomplished so far, it is clear that they can make immense amounts of change through from very little backing.
-by Johanna Silver
