Food Bank For New York City regularly conducts research on the extent and demographics of food poverty in New York City, access to government nutrition assistance and income support programs, and the needs of our member network.

Our research helps us to determine and address the need for emergency food, government nutrition assistance, income support, and nutrition education programs throughout the five boroughs, as well as helping to inform policy at the city, state and federal levels.

 

Food Bank’s Latest Research

New York City’s Meal Gap 2016 Trends Report

The Meal Gap Under the Microscope (Research Brief, 2015)

The Hunger Cliff One Year Later (Research Brief, 2014)

Hunger’s New Normal (Emergency Food Network Report, 2013)

 

Research Archives

Emergency Food Network

Food Bank’s emergency food network reports include the NYC Hunger Safety Net report series, which is designed to track trends in hunger and create research-based solutions to hunger throughout the five boroughs. The reports include findings on the population relying on emergency food programs (EFPs) including soup kitchens and food pantries; the operations, resources and services of EFPs; and residents’ access to food assistance.

NYC Hunger Experience

The NYC Hunger Experience report series tracks annual trends in difficulty affording food among New York City residents. Food Bank For New York City contracts with Marist College Institute for Public Opinion to conduct telephone interviews with a random and representative sample of city residents. Socio-demographic findings identify which populations throughout the five boroughs are having the greatest difficulty affording food throughout the year in order to inform policy solutions and address the problem of food poverty.

Policy Papers

Food Bank’s policy papers include reports, policy briefs, white papers, and strategy documents that use data from our research and other sources to inform public policy at the city, state, and federal levels. These publications are instrumental to our ongoing efforts to raise hunger awareness and spur legislative action to end food poverty.

Hunger in America

Feeding America regularly collaborates with member food banks and food rescue organizations throughout the United States to conduct studies on emergency food programs (EFPs) and the people they serve. Food Bank For New York City participates by conducting interviews with residents accessing EFPs and distributing surveys to the EFP network throughout the five boroughs. The Hunger in America: New York City & State reports draw upon local, state and national findings, as analyzed by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.