![]() ![]() He said the federal SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps, distributed $395 million in June for nearly 1.7 million New Yorkers to buy food - a 12% increase compared to February.Ĭity officials have said that the number of food-insecure New Yorkers has climbed to more than two million people - up from about 1.2 million before the crisis began in March. In April and May, the state and the city, with the urging of City Council, each dedicated $25 million to bolster area food programs - particularly the overwhelmed pantries.īerg noted that the $50 million food reserve is a “drop in the bucket” compared to the need and relative to other emergency food programs. Garcia recently stepped down as food czar and sanitation commissioner, ahead of a potential run for mayor. “This program, the Pandemic Food Reserve Emergency Distribution (P-FRED), is going to help meet that need, and give pantries the freedom to choose the products their communities need.” ![]() “Instead, we are hearing from pantries that there is a continued need for fresh produce and other products,” he added. “In April, we were really preparing for the worst - for major disruptions to the supply chain of food into the city that thankfully have not occurred,” said Joshua Goodman, a Department of Sanitation spokesperson. And fresh produce is now part of the picture.Ĭity officials said the mission has shifted because of an immediate need at the pantries, and because fears of widespread food disruption have eased since the height of the coronavirus crisis. The original plan called for the components of 18 million shelf-stable meals to be stockpiled for emergency use - a target that the Driscoll Foods warehouse expects to meet in late October.īut instead of a stockpile, the warehouse is being retooled as a Costco-like distribution hub from which 800 of the city’s food pantries and soup kitchens can submit orders for items at no charge. ![]() “Even a small disruption in the food supply would have a huge negative effect on New Yorkers. “This means we’ll have a failsafe, we’ll have a reserve that’s just for New York City to protect us no matter what else happens,” de Blasio announced at the time. This included organizing food deliveries to the elderly and the homebound, distributing millions of “grab and go” meals at schools across the city, and creating a $50 million food reserve to protect the city from potential disruptions to the region’s food distribution system. On April 15, de Blasio announced that then-Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who had recently been appointed the city’s food czar food czar, would help coordinate a new $170 million food distribution and security effort. ![]() “There are people who came to us who said now that their benefits stopped, they’re feeling it for the first time.” Emergency Food Reserve While the food distributed by Masbia is kosher, the recipients come from a wide variety of neighborhoods and immigrant communities, according to Rapaport. Rapaport said his group’s three sites - in Borough Park and Midwood in Brooklyn, and in Rego Park, Queens - have seen a fivefold increase in distribution, collectively serving 12 to 15 truckloads of food per week, rather than two to three pre-pandemic. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |