Press Releases

NEWS: MORE NEW YORKERS GOING HUNGRY

New York City – With Thanksgiving just around the corner, new data shows an alarming increase of New York families accessing food stamps to avoid going hungry. Data released today by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens), chair of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Caucus on the Middle Class, shows that the number of New Yorkers enrolled in the food stamp program has jumped 23% since 2004 – an additional 228,000 New Yorkers.


The data, collected and compiled from the New York City Department of Social Services, shows New Yorkers are dependent on food stamps while many others are blocked from them:


- Food stamp enrollment has increased by 228,592 New Yorkers, from 1,006,928 to 1,235,520 since 2004


- Average monthly food stamps enrollment in New York City grew steadily between 2004 and 2007, it spiked by 10% in 2008 alone


- An additional 129,539 people enrolled in the food stamp program in 2008 – that's more than 30% more than the previous three years combined.


Weiner said that, while enrollment is up, more needs to be done to help estimated 500,000 New Yorkers who eligible but not enrolled in the food stamp program overcome basic barriers:


1. Ban finger imaging requirements from Food Stamp eligibility requirements


2. Lift the federal ban on able-bodied adults, without dependents, from receiving food stamps.


3. Direct the Secretary of Agriculture to complete a report on the participation rates of the Food Stamp Program in the 25 largest cities


4. Triple funding for on-line food stamp application pilot programs to $15 million and expand to any qualified non-profit organizations


5. Create a $25 million funding stream within the Food Stamp Program to provide grants to Farmers Markets who will install electronic card reader.


Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, "Food stamp participation has increased since January 2008, but is still below where it was at its 1995 peak. With food stamp participation in the rest of the country rate at new highs, it is imperative that officials in New York make increasing food stamps enrollment a top priority."


Rep. Weiner said, "We have to do everything we can at every level of government to eliminate hunger in New York City. I believe that these proposals will help hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers access the food they and their families need to avoid going hungry."