 Emergency Food ProgramsAlthough emergency food programs are intended to serve as a last resort for households in need of short-term, immediate food assistance, more and more households are turning to the emergency food system as a regular source of food. New York State’s emergency food system is comprised of food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters. Across the state, eight regional food banks solicit bulk food donations, serve as a warehouse to store the donated food, and distribute the food to local community food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in their regions. Emergency food organizations receive funding from charitable donations, state and federal money, and/or commodities. New York State’s Department of Health’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) provides financial and technical assistance to 2,500 emergency food relief programs across the state. According to the Department of Health, over 120 million meals are provided each year through food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters in New York State. To learn more about New York’s eight food banks, visit the Food Bank Association of NYS’s website. Or you can visit the websites of New York’s food banks directly by clicking the links below.
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10.5% of New York State residents have difficulty affording enough food on a regular basis.
Source: USDA/Economic Research Service, October 2005
