As the cost of food continues to rise at staggering rates, 53 percent of New Yorkers have taken on additional debt in the past 12 months as they struggle to feed their families, according to a new poll commissioned by No Kid Hungry New York. The rising cost of food has also impacted New Yorkers’ health and wellbeing with 63 percent reporting that their mental health has suffered and 52 percent reporting that their physical health has suffered in the past year.
The poll also found that 62 percent of New Yorkers oppose federal cuts to food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, and Summer EBT. Opposition was strong in suburbs on Long Island (55%) and in the Hudson Valley (65%). This is particularly relevant as Congress considers proposals to cut SNAP benefits as part of its budget reconciliation bills.
The poll also found that 84 percent of New Yorkers agree that school meals should be free for all students, 82 percent found that food assistance benefits should increase at the same rate as food prices, and 91 percent were in agreement that ending hunger should be a shared, bipartisan priority.
“The rising cost of groceries isn’t just straining household budgets—it’s pushing families deeper into debt. This should be a wake-up call to policymakers in Albany and Washington: New York families need help,” said Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York. “New Yorkers, regardless of region or political party, all agree on the solution: we need bipartisan support for common-sense programs like SNAP, universal school meals, and Summer EBT that help families put food on the table and give kids the healthy food they need to grow and thrive.”
The poll was conducted by Change Research between February 8 and 14 and surveyed 1,596 New Yorkers across the state and has a margin of error of +/- 2.6%. Read the poll summary here.
Central New York Takeaways:
- 53 percent of Central New York residents have taken on additional debt in the past 12 months due to the rising cost of food.
- A majority of Central New York residents said that their physical health (55 percent) and their mental health (68 percent) had suffered due to the rising cost of food.
- 64 percent of Central New York residents oppose federal cuts to food assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and Summer EBT.
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