Food pantry providers are decrying the Adams administration’s plan to reduce funding for a critical food emergency program that buoyed hundreds of organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic as they worked to meet unprecedented needs.
Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed decrease comes as food pantry visits by New York City’s children and their families have nearly doubled from pre-pandemic levels, new data shared with Gothamist by food rescue group City Harvest shows. The data also shows visits to City Harvest’s partner sites increased by an average of 1 million a month in 2024, compared to 2019.
“It’s a staggering increase,” said Jilly Stephens, the group’s CEO.
She said the planned budget cuts would be devastating at a time when food insecurity remains high citywide, especially among children. “To decrease the amount of really spectacular quality food is something we all should be striving to avoid,” she said.
The program known as Community Food Connection was renamed and revamped under the Adams administration to fill the gap left by the end of pandemic-era federal and state funding and the continued need for food assistance. Adams more than doubled the program’s funding and put a new focus on fresh produce. Almost 700 organizations have a line of credit where they can choose what items they need from a menu and order them from a vendor twice a year.
But the mayor’s budget proposal would cut the program by 56%, from roughly $57 million this fiscal year to $25 million next fiscal year and $21 million the year after. Adams released his $112 billion spending plan last month, setting off a review by the City Council that’s expected to culminate in a deal by July.
The city’s Department of Social Services, which administers the funds, said Community Food Connection remains vital to the city.
“The Adams administration has made important investments to significantly revamp this program, which includes bolstering our distribution model, implementing tech enhancements, and strengthening access to healthy food and fresh produce for New Yorkers in need,” DSS spokesperson Neha Sharma said in a statement. “We continue to closely monitor ongoing need while working with our city partners and key stakeholders to ensure that the program is adequately funded and continues to deliver for food insecure New Yorkers.”
Nathalie Smythe, director of programs and human resources at Neighbors Together, which runs a soup kitchen, said Neighbors Together began feeding double the number of people during the pandemic, about 300 to 350 during each meal. But the need has only worsened since, particularly with new migrant arrivals. The soup kitchen now serves 400 to 500 people per meal.
“It’s insane. It doesn’t make any sense,” Smythe said of the proposed reduction in funding. “What is the plan for meeting the needs of so many New Yorkers right now when it comes to food?”
Smythe said 35% of in-kind food donations come from Community Food Connection.
“It’s really the city’s primary emergency food program,” said Jerome Nathaniel, director of policy and government relations at City Harvest. He said the funding stream is “the backbone of the charitable food supply in our city,” especially for mutual aid groups and smaller programs that arose during the pandemic, when food pantries drew long lines of hungry New Yorkers.
Members of the City Council’s welfare and finance committees plan to ask the administration about funding for the program during a budget hearing on Monday. The Council is also calling for the program to be funded at a minimum of $60 million annually, according to their preliminary budget response in early April.
“The Council consistently hears from pantries and soup kitchens about the increased need and longer lines of New Yorkers looking for meals and groceries,” said Rendy Desamours, a spokesperson for the Council, in a statement. “Among the Council’s priorities in this city budget is ensuring programs like the Community Food Connection maintain the funding required to continue providing families, children and older adults the support they need to survive.”