1.3 million New Yorkers rely on soup kitchens and food pantries.

Research from the Food Bank for New York City has shown a 93% rise in first-time visitors to emergency food sites – in fact, 1.3 million New Yorkers rely on them.

Almost all soup kitchens and food pantries in the Big Apple have reported a rise in first-time visitors during 2009 – and more than half of them saw an increase of more than 25%. The number of people having trouble paying for food has increased by 60%, to 3.3m, since 2003.

A recent article in The Economist highlighted the research, which combines data from a number of sources dating back to 2003. For this year’s report – NYC Hunger Experience 2009: A Year in Recession – Emergency Food Site Resource Surveys were collected from 493 soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City between February 2009 and May 2009.

The figures are surprising, coming from a superpower that donates millions to developing or disaster-torn countries around the world, including Haiti presently – when clearly its own citizens are suffering.

The US Government has certainly put in place a number of initiatives to support its people during the recession including extra benefits and tax credits as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) but these statistics show that poverty and the risk of poverty are closer to many more than we might have thought.

The total number of people living in poverty throughout the US increased by 2.5 million from 37.3m (12.5%) people in 2007 to 39.8m (13.2%) in 2008, the highest number since 1960.

Throughout the nation, 15% of households (17m) are food insecure, up from 11% (13m households) in 2007 – the 2009 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report shows that in New York more than 11% of households are food insecure, marking a 14% increase from reported numbers in 2008.

Furthermore, some of the most shocking figures concern the number of children who are in need of emergency food services. The Food Bank’s report stated that almost one-half (47%) of households with children experienced difficulty affording needed food for themselves and their families in 2009.

Recently released census data shows that more than one out every four* (27%) New York City children age 17 and under live below the federal poverty level – and according to The Economist: “A staggering one in five of the city’s children, 397,000 small people, rely on soup kitchens—up 48% since 2004.”

The older generation is equally vulnerable – throughout 2009, almost two in every five (38%) New York City seniors (ages 65 and older) experienced difficulty affording food. Although this is down from 47% in 2008, the 2009 number represents a 65% increase since 2003 (23%) and is up 19% from 2007 (32%).

The research also demonstrated that in New York City, women consistently have a more difficult time affording food than men. Almost one-half (46%) of women had difficulty affording needed food throughout 2009 – but these results are not so unexpected given the gender inequality of income in New York City – men earn on average 16% more than women – almost $6,000.

The report concludes that emergency food is a much-needed but temporary measure: “Conceptually, emergency food is an important component of the work to end food poverty, as it ensures that families have access to immediate assistance while longer-term solutions are put in place.

“However, emergency food is designed to be a temporary measure, and absent resources being dedicated to long-term solutions, emergency food is but a band-aid, and a onetime stimulus measure, like ARRA, that temporarily increases the supply of emergency food is effectively placing a band-aid on top of a band-aid for a wound that needs stitching.”

To read the report, NYC Hunger Experience 2009: A Year in Recession, click here.

*American Community Survey. (2008). U.S. Census Bureau