Proposed Cuts to New York’s Federal Nutrition Assistance Program Lead to Rising Food Insecurity
New York City, New York–In the shadow of proposed deep cuts to federal nutrition assistance programs, more and more New Yorkers are struggling to put food on the table. new vote Commissioned by No Kid Hungry, New York. Three-quarters of adults (73%) found it harder to afford groceries in the past 12 months; two-fifths (38%) reported not eating all day, running out of food, or experiencing other food insecurity symptom. Families with children in public schools were hit the hardest, with more than a quarter (29%) of parents worried their household would not have enough to eat and two in five (40%) being forced to pay for food or other necessities Choose between rent, utility bills, or gas bills, such as sometime in the last year.
Even moderate-income New Yorkers are hungry: One-third (35%) of respondents with annual household incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 experienced one or more symptoms of food insecurity.
Other key findings show how many New Yorkers are living on the brink of starvation and how hunger affects their mental health.
“What our neighbors across the state are going through should make any New Yorker outraged. So many people are struggling — skipping meals, eating unhealthy foods, running out of food at home. The stress on parents is especially worrisome , 40% of parents are forced to make impossible decisions like whether to buy food or turn on the lights.” Rachel Sabella, director of “New York Is Not Hungry”“The only silver lining is that New Yorkers are pissed off. Nine out of 10 of us would like to see our elected officials move beyond partisan politics and make ending child hunger a priority. Now is the time to invest in making access to food easier Time for a harder plan. Our survey shows that’s exactly what New Yorkers are asking for.”
Key findings from the 2023 Poll:
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Due to lack of money or other resources, many New Yorkers have faced hunger over the past 12 months.-
Two in five adults (38%) have experienced symptoms of food insecurity in the past year. -
Hispanic New Yorkers are more likely to face hunger, with nearly half (48%) reporting one or more symptoms of food insecurity in the past 12 months (compared to the percentage of non-Hispanic white respondents 35%).
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Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said it was harder for their household to afford groceries than it was a year ago. -
More than a quarter (29%) of parents worry their family won’t have enough to eat, and two in five (40%) are forced to choose between paying for food or paying for other necessities like rent, utilities or gas .-
Parents were more likely to finish their food or not eat throughout the day.
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One in three (35%) middle-income New Yorkers ($50,000 to $100,000 annual income) experience food insecurity. (The median household income in New York is $75,157.) -
Fifty-nine percent of adults and two-thirds (68%) of parents experienced stress, anxiety or depression in the past 12 months as they struggled to figure out how to afford food for their family.-
People of color (63%) were more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes than white New Yorkers (57%).
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More than half of New Yorkers (56%) and two-thirds (68%) of parents worry about supporting their family if they encounter an unexpected $500 expense.
Amid this worsening crisis, New Yorkers are almost universally united in calling on their elected officials to take action, with 93% urging bipartisanship to end child hunger and an overwhelming majority (90%) of those surveyed who say the issue should be Legislators’ top priority. Contrary to calls by House Republicans to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), 88% of New Yorkers want to see SNAP benefits increased to keep up with inflation.
New Yorkers provide vivid examples of the impact of child hunger on their own families. “I refuse to let my kids know what it’s like to be really hungry. I’ll make sure they don’t go hungry. I can eat once or twice a day to make sure they’re full at every meal,” A Saratoga County mother said. “I had to choose between feeding my children or paying my electricity bill because there were not enough food resources here,” Another parent from the Bronx said. “We are a dual income family with a combined salary of $80,000 a year and we are still living paycheck to paycheck due to rising prices for food costs, gas, electricity, utilities, health insurance and child care. It’s not sustainable,” Another parent from Orleans County near Rochester said.
Change Research polled 1,189 New York State residents April 3-10 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%.Read the full questionnaire, methodology and results here.
About No Child Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But this year millions of children could face hunger. No Kid Hungry is dedicated to ending childhood hunger by helping to start and improve programs that provide all children with the healthy foods they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.
About Change Research
Change Research provides fast, affordable and accurate technology-based voting nationwide. Change Research’s approach combines the best elements of different voting methods by using its unique online survey technology (dynamic online sampling) and text-to-web voting. Since its founding in 2017, Change Research has conducted more than 2,000 polls in all 50 states, surveying more than 3 million people. In 2020, Change Research’s private and public polls were nearly 25 percent more accurate than other polls in battleground states.
