Food Bank of the Southern Tier

Hunger Has a Cure

What is Hunger?

What Is a Food Bank?

Food Pantry

Food Warehouse

Products•Manufacturers •Processors •Distributors •Retailers •Growers

Food Bank of the Southern Tier

Agencies•Food

Pantries•Soup

Kitchens•Senior Centers

•Shelters •Youth Programs

•Residential Programs

People in Need

Flow of Food to the Hungry

Hunger in the Southern Tier

Each week, over 11,000 individuals visit a pantry,

soup kitchen or emergency shelter.

Hunger in Tompkins County

• Almost 14% of people live below the poverty level.

• 32 member agencies distributed over 1 million pounds of food.

• 50% of clients are seniors.

Who Are the Hungry?

• Working Poor

• People on a fixed income

• Families with children

• Not all are receiving public assistance

• Many have to make difficult choices

Making Ends Meet

Basic Needs Family of 4 $12.23/hour

Minimum Wage

$7.25/hour

Poverty Guidelines Family of 4

Weekly

Monthly

Yearly

$978

$4,239

$50,863

$580 $424

$2,513 $1,838

$30,160 $22,050

Federal Safety Net

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – 130% ($2,389)

• Family Health Plus – 175% ($2,757)

• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) – 212% ($3,903)

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – 220%

($4,043)

Gaps in Federal Safety Net

• SNAP– Only 53% of eligible New Yorkers receive

benefits.– Thrifty Food Plan.

• When Work Doesn’t Pay:– Cliffs and Phase Outs

“Sweet Charity”

• Emergency Food Programs– Food Pantries– Soup Kitchens – Emergency Shelters

• The 7 Deadly “Ins” of Emergency Food

The 7 Deadly “Ins”

1. Insufficiency

2. Inappropriateness

3. Nutritional Inadequacy

4. Instability

5. Inaccessibility

6. Inefficiency

7. Indignity

What can you do?

• Learn about the issue– Register for email updates from the Food Research and

Action Center - frac.org

• Get involved in direct service– Volunteer at a local pantry or soup kitchen– Community Food Security Projects– Coordinate a fund/food drive

• Advocate for change– Cornell Against Hunger – lcg23@cornell.edu– Tompkins County Worker’s Center- tclivingwage.org– Mobilize.org

Questions?