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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Martina Santos, Board Member of Westside Campaign Against Hunger
3:20:31
ยท
5 min
Martina Santos, a board member and volunteer at Westside Campaign Against Hunger, provides emotional testimony about her personal experiences with food insecurity and the critical role of food pantries in New York City. She emphasizes the growing demand for food assistance and urges for increased funding for the Community Food Connection (CFC) program.
- Santos describes how Westside Campaign Against Hunger has expanded from one distribution point to 30, now serving 10,000 families with 6 million pounds of healthy food.
- She highlights the dignity and choice provided by the food pantry, comparing it to shopping at a supermarket.
- Santos makes a passionate plea for continued support of food pantries, citing the widespread struggle to afford basic necessities like rent, medicine, and food in New York City.
Martina Santos
3:20:31
Good afternoon, everyone.
3:20:33
Good afternoon, miss Ayala.
3:20:34
Thank you for having me here for the second time today.
3:20:37
I'm gonna read my testimony to you, and I wanna add it when I finish a little bit more if you let me.
3:20:47
My name is Martina Santos, and I'm volunteer in Westside Campaign Against Hunger.
3:20:53
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present in my testimony.
3:20:58
Currently attending Westside Campaign Against Hunger Food Panty, a customer volunteer and a board member over for fifteen year over for fifteen year.
3:21:11
When I come to a customer because my I have a low income.
3:21:16
I cannot effort to buy some food, fresh fruits and some vegetable.
3:21:22
Immediately, when I went to Westcott, I see that qualified with the food, the distribution to the customer.
3:21:31
Today, I went home that day, I went home with smile was smiling through the fresh fruits and vegetable protein grain meal.
3:21:41
They be able to choose myself during my visit.
3:21:45
The experience they bring me to able to choose my fresh fruit and vegetable It's like when I'm going to the supermarket.
3:21:54
Wiska had come to home for me almost immediately.
3:21:59
For my first visit, I'm becoming a volunteer pantry.
3:22:03
Wickham mission is we get I'm nervous.
3:22:09
Go ahead.
3:22:09
You know me.
Diana Ayala
3:22:10
Go ahead.
3:22:10
Go.
Martina Santos
3:22:11
We've got the distribution of 6,000,000 pound healthy food, a 10,000 family.
3:22:21
For the example, seven years ago, we can have only one point distribution point.
3:22:30
Now we have 30 distribution point delivery directly to 2,000 home.
3:22:37
My regrets are the fashion to being able to a family neighbor, friend, friend and stranger.
3:22:45
We start becoming now Wiska, they show to the customer empathy empathy treatment when they come into the pantry.
3:23:00
Wiska volunteer, we have able to feel to really hungry to meet to the existing city.
3:23:09
I am at place and for me, it's a pleasure to be able to do this job.
3:23:19
It's not to do this job because no New Yorker going to bed we hungry.
3:23:28
In 02/2004 In 02/2004, we got a which was at a hundred 60 hundred point a million.
3:23:40
It was a hundred and 25 fiscal year for full pantry.
3:23:47
I'm nervous.
3:23:55
We support to end service to our community across the New York City.
3:24:03
This here, I'm here too, letting know you, miss Ayala, to help in to fighting for the C CFC to bring the budget back to other's country because the sad part for me is sometimes I'm going home with a broken heart because I see people in the street and heard the conversation how they be a struggle to pay rent, buy medicine, buy pay electricity bill.
3:24:39
All these thing, I'm struggling too because I'm a low income too and I be in the work in the food stamp line.
3:24:49
So I appreciate if you and your team keep continue with the hard working and God bless in you to helping us to get the budget back to service to our customer with dignity like they deserve it because sometimes I don't I don't have enough money and I need to eat like I don't I don't be embarrassed here to eat rice and bean in the evening because I don't have enough meat and this rice and bean they lot they increase my sugar.
3:25:22
I'm suffering for hyper operation too.
3:25:24
And that's what I'm here to hear my voice, you know, and begging to you to do something for us, the food pantry, because that's not only me, that's my community living pantry to pantry and food insecure.
3:25:43
They grow like a monster, not only in New York City, around the world.
3:25:49
And now New York, they supposed to skip meal because if they eat breakfast, they don't eat lunch.
3:25:57
They save it for go to bed with something in the stomach.
3:26:01
And that's really sad, miss Ayala.
3:26:04
We're living in the capital of the world, and this is heartbreaker for me.
3:26:11
Thank you very much for listening to me, and have a wonderful afternoon.
3:26:16
Every single body, and Miss Ayala
Diana Ayala
3:26:19
You did so good.
Scott French
3:26:20
You could
Martina Santos
3:26:20
help yourself.
Diana Ayala
3:26:21
Oh, you did so good.