By Meaghan Hamilton | Institutional Giving Manager
New York Common Pantry has had an incredibly busy fall, and our team has been working tirelessly to welcome our growing community of visitors!
During the recent government shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), an essential program that helps provide food to over 1.8 million New York City residents, was in the crosshairs. During a very confusing two-week period – where the federal government temporarily paused funding for the program– New York Common Pantry was working to meet this emergency gap in service and make sure our community didn’t go hungry.
This national emergency has caused an exponential increase in visits. In just one week, our case managers in Manhattan saw a 118% increase in the number of households enrolled in Pantry services, and their counterparts in the Bronx saw a 90% increase, as compared to the same week last year. Wednesday, November 5th, was the busiest day in our 45-year history of our Manhattan pantry. On this one day alone, we served 585 households Pantry bags of fresh produce and dry goods, whereas on average, we typically serve closer to 300 households on any given day.
While the shutdown has ended and regular SNAP payments have resumed, New York Common Pantry will continue to be busy making sure that all New Yorkers have access to a bountiful Thanksgiving meal. With the cost of living and inflation out of control, the price of a Thanksgiving meal has increased by 50% over the last five years. Fortunately, New York Common Pantry is working between now and next Thursday to deliver turkeys all over the city, and our teams of amazing volunteers are packing pantry bags full to prep for Thanksgiving and beyond. During the holiday season, we increase the volume of our pantry bags by 53% so they last approximately eight more meals than our average bag to accommodate family festivities.
During this season of gratitude, we want to make sure we thank our community of supporters who have made our increase in work possible! Since our most recent report to our GlobalGiving Community in July, we have provided approximately 4,524,600 meals to 200,200 visitors across all of our programs– Choice Pantries in the Bronx and Manhattan, Mobile Pantry, our Hot Meal Program, Nourish senior program, Live Health! wellness education program, and case management Help 365 program. With just what has been donated through the GlobalGiving platform alone, New York Common Pantry can provide over 15,770 meals.
This outside impact, our emergency response in the wake of the shutdown, and our ability to increase our services in the wake of the holiday season are all thanks to the continuous support of our community, volunteers, and donors like you.
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