June 9, 2016 – On behalf of Food Bank For New York City, our citywide network of community-based charities, and the 1.4 million New Yorkers who rely on us for sustenance through hard times, we are grateful that the de Blasio Administration and the City Council have reached an agreement in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 New York City budget to increase funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) beyond FY 2016 levels. I want to express my gratitude to Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Mark-Viverito and the entire New York City Council for prioritizing this in their negotiations.

EFAP is a vital resource for our city’s food pantries and soup kitchens. This funding increase will better enable them to serve vulnerable New Yorkers and help reduce chronic shortages in the emergency food supply. While more than emergency food is needed to close our city’s 241-million meal gap, this is an important step to level the nutritional playing field for all New Yorkers and to ensure that hunger does not hold anyone back from realizing their full potential.

Food Bank For New York City looks forward to working with the Administration and the City Council to continue on a path toward ending hunger in New York City.

– Margarette Purvis, President and CEO, Food Bank For New York City