N.Y. Soup Kitchens Run Short on Food as Demand Grows

Food charities in New York are seeing greater demand, and more quickly running through their supplies, amid what nonprofit and city officials fear is a burgeoning hunger crisis, reports The New York Times.

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger estimates that one in six city residents is “food insecure” and found in a 2013 survey of 254 food pantries and soup kitchens that demand was up 10 percent from the previous year. “There will be nights when we run short of food,” said Juan De La Cruz, head of the coalition’s food program.

The city’s Human Resources Administration announced outreach efforts last month to boost enrollment for food stamps. The agency also secured a waiver of a federal work rule that had cut off the federal nutrition aid to more than 46,000 New Yorkers ages 18 to 49 unless they worked at least 20 hours a week or took part in job training.