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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York, on Food Insecurity and Anti-Hunger Programs
2:40:09
ยท
3 min
Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York, testified on the urgent need to address rising food insecurity in New York City. She highlighted the severe impact of increasing grocery prices on New Yorkers, particularly in communities of color, and called for bipartisan support to combat potential federal cuts to nutrition programs.
- Half of New Yorkers are going into debt to pay for groceries, with 86% reporting their incomes are not keeping pace with rising food costs.
- Sabella emphasized the importance of proactive measures by the administration, such as increasing school breakfast participation and improving SNAP outreach.
- She urged the City Council to advocate against proposed federal cuts to SNAP and school meal programs, which could have devastating effects on New York City.
Rachel Sabella
2:40:09
Sorry.
2:40:10
Good afternoon.
2:40:11
My name is Rachel Sabella and I have the honor and privilege of serving as the director of No Kid Hungry New York.
2:40:16
Chair, I wanna thank you for your steadfast work on this.
2:40:20
What we heard today was how important this is, how you're holding the administration accountable.
2:40:26
We are lucky to have you leading in this battle, and I am proud to call you one of my hunger heroes.
2:40:31
So thank you.
2:40:32
I also wanna thank the full council body and the staff.
2:40:35
This council has always come together to fight for what is right and to put food on the table.
2:40:40
Last year when the administration cut school meal programs in the middle of the year, it was this body that got it restored in a month.
2:40:47
It was this body that worked with us to get information out to families on summer EBT this year, and I so admire the work that council is doing for immigrant families right now.
2:40:57
This is more needed than ever before.
2:41:00
I have worked on anti hunger programs for more than ten years.
2:41:03
I have never seen anything quite like what we're facing right now.
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We just did a survey of New Yorkers and what we found is half of New Yorkers are going into debt to pay for groceries.
2:41:16
86% have said their incomes are not rising as fast as grocery prices.
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New Yorkers also told us that not only is this stretching their checkbooks, but it's affecting their mental and physical health.
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They're cutting meals, they're skipping meals, they're hiding food to make sure there are resources for children at the end of the month.
2:41:36
And we know what our survey tells us, what our experience tells us is these numbers are much higher in communities of color.
2:41:43
But what does give me a little bit of hope is that New Yorkers don't support these cuts.
2:41:49
They also believe that solving child hunger should be a bipartisan solution.
2:41:54
This is not a time to play games.
2:41:57
So you have my written testimony with all the data and policy recommendations and things.
2:42:01
But I just wanna sum up my ask in two ways.
2:42:05
One is we want this entire body to work together, again in a bipartisan way as we advocate in Washington.
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It's not about politics.
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It's about what's right.
2:42:16
It's really scary what these snap cuts could be, the proposals, whether limiting choice, cutting benefits, pushing costs onto states.
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It could have a devastating effect.
2:42:26
There are also potential rollbacks to school meal programs.
2:42:30
That's something we wanna keep in mind when New York City is giving free meals to every child and when the state has a major proposal there too.
2:42:38
My second ask, and I will be very quick, and I think the word proactive was said by every council member today.
2:42:45
How are we making sure the administration is being proactive?
2:42:48
I think about school meal programs.
2:42:50
There is so much growth for participation in school breakfast that doesn't have a financial implication.
2:42:56
What is the administration doing?
2:42:58
Is SNAP outreach happening in school buildings and after school programs, that TA to help people get their summer EBT benefits?
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Are people getting information about where pantries are?
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We know they can't fix the SNAP's Timing, but there are other things that we can do.
2:43:13
We also know New Yorkers are afraid, and they have trusted sources that they can go to for support, and we wanna make sure the administration continues to support them.
2:43:23
So I thank you for everything you and the entire team are doing.
2:43:27
Please count us in in this work and we are here together to make sure No Kid Hungry is a reality.