Long Island food pantries see record demand as holidays approach
Food assistance organizations across Long Island report sharp increases in the number of families seeking help, while also facing funding and capacity challenges.
More Stories
Food pantries across Long Island are serving more people than ever before and many organizations say they expect demand to rise even further as the holiday season approaches.
"Long Island is very expensive and it's alarming to see what's going on," said Keith Scott, president and CEO of Pronto of Long Island.
Organizations across the region report that more families are turning to food assistance programs each month.
At Pronto of Long Island in Bay Shore, leaders say the number of families seeking assistance increased 30% from August to September.
Scott said the demographics of those seeking help are changing.
"More middle-class and upper middle-class families are coming here," he said. "Six figures a couple of years ago was more than enough to make it on Long Island. Now it's not. People are really struggling."
At the Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center in Wyandanch, demand has surged 72% since January.
"We'll do probably 1,500 people this month," said Joe Gibbons, the center's president of the board.
ECLI-VIBES in Islandia is also seeing high demand.
"We're serving between 400 and 500 families per month," co-founder Jennifer Hernandez said. "People are walking out of our doors with 40 to 50 pounds of food per family."
Pantry leaders point to several factors driving the increased need, including cuts to SNAP benefits and rising household expenses.
"Cuts to SNAP, people that used to rely on benefits," Scott said. "But gas is up, car insurance is up, owning a home, mortgage rates are up."
At the same time, some organizations say funding losses have made it harder to meet growing demand.
"We lost some federal funding last year," Gibbons said. "We lost $80,000 last year, $80,000 this year just to buy food. So we're getting by. We're scraping."
Organizations also report rising demand for baby supplies and clothing, in addition to food.
With the holiday season approaching, pantry leaders say they are preparing for even more people to seek assistance.
"We're ready," Hernandez said. "But with very, very limited capacity. We're scrappy. We'll get the volunteers and we'll find the food."
