BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Have you adjusted your grocery list because of the high cost of food? According to a new poll many New Yorkers have.
A report from No Kid Hungry says the cost of food is increasing faster than the paycheck for a majority of families. This is forcing them to make cuts around the dinner table. No Kid Hungry says 85% of families believe food costs are rising faster than their income. Nearly half of New Yorkers polled say in the last 12 months it has become much harder to afford groceries.
The report also finds higher prices are impacting some people more than others. 43% of school families and rural residents say they eat low-quality or limited food items because of the cost. That's compared to 32% of all New Yorkers.
Collin Bishop is the Chief Communication Officer at FeedMore Western New York. We spoke with him while dozens of volunteers packed boxes of food at their warehouse.
"The food in these boxes is taken out and put into the backpack of kids who need nutritional assistance over the weekend," Bishop says. "We've seen the number of people dealing with food insecurity in our community continue to rise."
According to the new poll from No Kid Hungry about half of New Yorkers are purchasing less or no nutritious food because of rising prices.
We also spoke with Frank Cerny, Executive Director of The Rural Outreach Center.
"In the area we serve, Southern rural areas of Western New York, there are 50,000 people living in poverty," says cerny. "They can not afford what we would say is nutritious food; fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, bananas."
Cerny says part of the problem is lack of transportation and lack of access to larger chain stores. He says because of that they end up shopping for food at a store nearest to where they live.
Bishop says in addition to their food pantries across the region, they also bring food to people.
"One of the programs that I'm very proud of that FeedMore WNY has is a mobile farm market and it is not a place that hands out food for free but you can go there and you can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for very low cost," says Bishop.
He says one way to fight hunger is through making sure the public is aware of all the resources. He also urges those who don't need help to advocate for people who do.
For more information on FeedMore resources, you can click here.
For more information on the Rural Outreach Center, you can click here.
